While serving as AP TV New York Bureau Chief for several years, my friend, colleague, and client Ricardo Ortega was killed in Haiti.
The anniversary of his shooting death passed with little notice as the Caribbean country that shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic to its east continues to burn down by local murderous gangs. Haiti keeps recovering from a 2010 earthquake, and many of Haiti's landmarks dating to the early 19th century remain intact. These include Citadelle la Ferrière, a mountaintop fortress, and the nearby ruins of Sans-Souci Palace, the baroque former royal home of King Henry I.
Ortega was an experienced and war-savvy journalist who survived covering the WTC attacks 9-11 in NYC in addition to the Saudi murderers, Ortega covered armed conflicts in Sarajevo, Kosovo, Chechnya Afghanistan, and Iraq only to have his life taken by the lawless Haitian gangs.
Ricardo graduated in Engineering from the University of Valencia, after leaving to study Physical Sciences in the Russian capital, Ortega began his career linked to the media after having a strong command of Russian. Said work was carried out simultaneously with the collaborations that he carried out for Antena 3 Radio.
In 1994, Ortega became the correspondent for Antena 3 in Moscow Russia thanks to the agreement that the network signed with EFE. During this stage, he covered the wars in Sarajevo, Kosovo, and Chechnya, a region in which he was detained by the Russian army along with other journalists, among other armed conflicts related to countries of the former USSR.
https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2004/03/07/comunicacion/1078693947.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR7_0RGa1ZE&t=22s
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BLZNhqeLJFg
Finally, the United Nations has finally woken up to the realization that these are deadly thugs destroying a Caribbean paradise called Hispaniola.
https://apnews.com/article/haiti-un-gangs-security-international-force-…
U.N. considering options to combat Haiti's raging gang violence
CNN's Kim Brunhuber speaks with the Caribbean correspondent for the Miami Herald about the brutal gang violence in Haiti and what can be done to stop it.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/07/16/exp-haiti-gang-violence-cha…
https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/article277232093.html