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PAST WINNERS: First Edition 2002-2003
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Investigations into mishandling of funds by Latin American presidents were identified as some of the exceptional reports presented in the first year of the Prize for Best Investigative Journalism Report on a Corruption Case in Latin America and the Caribbean, awarded annually by Transparency International in Latin America and the Caribbean (TILAC) and the Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS). The prize, an award of $25,000, was presented during the 11th International Anti-Corruption Conference in Seoul, Korea, on 25 May 2003.
 Jorge Loásiga, journalist from La Prensa of Managua (Nicaragua), first prize
An international jury, composed of Tina Rosenberg, editorial page editor for The New York Times; Michael Reid, Latin American editor of The Economist; Marcelo Beraba, director of the Rio se Janeiro office of Folha de S. Paulo; Gustavo Gorriti, associate researcher at IPYS; and Juan Lozano, until recently director of Colombia's CityTV, declared Jorge Loásiga, journalist at La Prensa of Managua, winner of the prize.
Loáisiga presented a series of investigative articles on the embezzlement of state funds on the part of Arnoldo Aleman, President of Nicaragua, and in office at the time the articles were published (1997-2002). The investigation, known as "Los checazos de Alemán" (Aleman's Cheques), was chosen from amongst 100 works by a unanimous decision of the Jury. In its final declaration, the jury highlighted that "by bringing to light significant evidence, Loáisiga's research achieved conclusive findings" as well as "the considerable research efforts Loáisiga made prior to proof gathering". Loásiga, 35, investigated alleged malpractice by the Alemán government over the course of more than a year.
Finalists
The jury highlighted the quality of nine other investigative reports that, together with the prizewinner, formed the finalists' group. The authors are the following:
Rodolfo Flores, of Siglo XXI from Guatemala, and Rolando Rodríguez, of La Prensa from Panama, for the revelation that Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo, the Vice-President and the private secretary of the President, opened 13 secret bank accounts in Panama City.
Daniel Santoro, of Clarín from Argentina, for disclosing the Swiss bank accounts belonging to former Argentine President Carlos Saúl Menem and his private secretary Ramón Hernández.
Miguel Agosta, of Telenoche Investiga of TV channel Canal 13 in Argentina, for revealing intimidation methods and solicitation of bribes by some leaders of the Civil Construction Workers' Union of Argentina.
Amaury Ribeyro, of the magazine Istoé of Brazil, for disclosing an alliance between the Anti-Drug Trafficking Division of Paraguay and the Brazilian drug traffickers linked to Fernandinho Beira-Mar.
Fábio Gusmão, of the newspaper Extra in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for revealing of corruption within the local anti-drug trafficking police forces.
Eduardo Faustini, of TV Globo in Brazil, for disclosing corruption within the Secretary of Planning in the municipality of São Gonçalo in the State of Rio de Janeiro.
Norbey Quevedo, of El Espectador in Colombia, for revealing the obscure dealings of the leaders of the Colombian Football Federation, which allowed them to profit from the Copa America football games.
Fabio Castillo, from El Espectador in Colombia, for exposing Nigerian racketeers operating via the Internet in the United States.
17 reporters from the staff of El Meridiano in Córdoba, Colombia, for the disclosure of 91 abandoned and half-built public works in the city of Cordoba and its surroundings.
© Copyright derechos reservados - Instituto Prensa y Sociedad - 2003
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