Manuel de Dios Unanue

Manuel de Dios Unanue (4 January 1943 – 11 March 1992) was a Cuban-born U.S. journalist, radio show host, anti-drug crusading editor of magazines Cambio XXI and Crimen,

He was murdered in Elmhurst, Queens, New York, on 11 March 1992, by alleged hitman Alejandro Wilson Mejia-Velez.

Early life and education

Manuel de Dios Unanue was born in Camaguey, Cuba, on 4 January 1943. "Dialogue" leader defector Rev. Manuel Espinosa accused de Dios of being a Castro "agent."

Career After arriving in New York City in 1973, de Dios went to work for the city's Hispanic Criminal Justice Task Force, "He was absolutely the most prominent American journalist to expose the cartels," said Rossana Rosado, El Diario-La Prensa's city editor. New York Mayor David Dinkins posted a $10,000 reward, which was quickly raised to $70,000 by several media outlets at the urging of de Dios' colleagues. Other conspirators arrested for de Dios' murder were Juan Velasco, who turned informant and was given 15 years along with his wife Elizabeth Castano, who also cooperated and was given an 18-year sentence. Another conspirator, Guillermo Gaviria, remained a fugitive until his arrest in Colombia on 18 April 1999.

On 9 March 1994, Mejia-Velez, the only one of the conspirators to go before a jury, was convicted of killing de Dios. His conviction was based in large part on the testimony of Mena and two other conspirators, Elkin Farley Salazar and Jose James Benitez, who each received 18-year sentences in exchange for their testimony against Mejia-Velez. At Mejia-Velez's trial, prosecution witnesses identified a leader of the Cali cartel, José Santacruz Londoño, as the instigator of the plot. "It looks like all the rules are off," said an unnamed detective involved in solving de Dios' killing.

Impact "It seems to me he laid [down] his life for all society," said John Cardinal O'Connor to the 1,500 people who attended a memorial service for de Dios at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

In September 1998, the Manuel de Dios Unanue Journalism School, formerly M.S.142, opened at 610 Henry Street in Carroll Gardens, welcoming 120 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students. The school was later merged with other schools in the district and moved to the John Jay High School building on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan.

On June 28, 1995, the New York City Council, at the urging of bill sponsor Councilman Guillermo Linares (D-Manhattan), voted unanimously to designate 83rd Street, between Baxter and Roosevelt Avenues, Manuel de Dios Unanue Street, expanding on a decision made, in March 1993, for New York City to set aside land on 83rd St as a park, designated the Manuel de Dios Unanue Triangle, in honor of de Dios.