Orlando Martínez Howley

Orlando Martínez Howley (September 23, 1944 – March 17, 1975) was a left-wing journalist and member of the Communist Party of the Dominican Republic who was a critic of President Joaquín Balaguer. He was ordered to be killed by the then president in 1975, and in 2000, four men were given 30-year jail sentences in connection with the killing. His father Luis Mariano Martinez and mother Adriana Howley had five boys, including Orlando, and his brothers were Bélgica, Túcides (deceased), Nelson, and Sergio.

Death Orlando Martínez had written articles critical of the president. He was assassinated in Santo Domingo de Guzmán on 17 March 1975 while President Joaquín Balaguer was in office. He was shot on the street called José Contreras near the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.

Investigation

Former President Joaquin Balaguer always claimed to have known who carried out the killing of Orlando Martínez but refused to tell the judicial authorities. He opted to not tell who they were and just wrote a "blank page" in his autobiography, Memories of a Courtesan in the Era of Trujillo, supposedly leaving for posterity the knowledge of who the killers were. The murders of Amín Abel Hasbún, leftist-leader Otto Morales, and Maximiliano Gomez were all cases that occurred during this time. Throughout Balaguer's rule, it is estimated that he ordered the murders of more than 2,000 workers, students, and intellectuals combined.

Impact Thirty years after Orlando Martínez's death, journalists from the Dominican Republic continue to write about him. He was known for his strong stances against the ruling regime and after his murder, he became a symbol of freedom of expression in the Dominican Republic.

Memorials His home is now a public memorial.

Books Leila Roldán, Archivo de instrucción: el caso Orlando Martínez Dominican Republic: Stanley Graficas & Associates, 1999.