Colombian Youth Convicted in Death of Latino Journalist
A Colombian teen-ager was convicted Wednesday in the contract killing of a crusading anti-drug journalist who was gunned down on what authorities said were orders from a drug lord.
Wilson Alejandro Mejia-Velez, 19, was convicted of violating federal interstate commerce laws in the murder-for-hire plot that involved telephone calls between Colombia and the United States.
Manuel de Dios Unanue, 48, the former editor in chief of El Diario-La Prensa, a New York-based Spanish-language daily, was sitting at a bar on March 11, 1992, when a hooded gunman walked up and killed him.
Prosecutors said Mejia-Velez carried out the hit on orders of Colombia’s Cali drug cartel to silence de Dios’ attacks on drug lords in two magazines he published.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
