Orlando Sierra Hernández

Orlando Sierra Hernández (September 21, 1959 - February 1, 2002) was a Colombian columnist and journalist, deputy director for La Patria, main newspaper in Manizales, the capital city of the Department of Caldas, in Colombia. He wrote a column and regularly criticized the corruption of the local government in colombian department of Caldas. He was also a novelist and poet. As a child, Hernández struggled in both primary school and high school, but he always wanted to continue to study literature. He often called out Francisco Ferney Tapasco González on his corruption regarding his use of political office for personal gain at the expense of the people he was governing.

Death Orlando Sierra Hernández's murder was something he himself thought would happen at some point. The murder occurred during the afternoon of January 30, 2002, when he and his daughter were walking back to La Patria headquarters from their lunch together. He served five years of this sentence, and upon his release, he was murdered shortly after by the police, after assaulting and killing a man in the city of Cali. However, seven Colombian magazines and newspapers believed the crime was not fully solved, and they came together to create Project Manizales in an effort to raise awareness for Sierra Hernández and investigate his case further. Around this time, a documentary was made regarding Sierra's murder called, "The Battle of Silence." Francisco Ferney Tapasco González's lawyers have said they will appeal the court's decision.

Additionally, upon hearing of Topasco's sentence, Gustavo Mohme, President of the IAPA and editor of the newspaper La República, said, “At last justice has been done,” he added that this was “a great piece of news to celebrate for Orlando Sierra’s memory, for the suffering of the members of his family, for the honor of the La Patria colleagues, and for justice for all murdered Colombian journalists whose cases continue to go unpunished.”