Nicaragua's Embattled Government Tries To Silence Independent Media

As the months-long crackdown on opponents of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega drags on, the small independent press in the country is coming under harsh attack. One reporter has been killed and dozens more say they have been beaten and threatened. Many reporters have fled or quit the profession but a determined group of journalists remains. They include reporters like Julio César López Chavarría. The 32-year-old is deep in the crowd of a recent anti-government protest gathering at a busy traffic circle in Managua. He pulls out his selfie stick, attaches his phone to the end and starts transmitting live to his website, Onda Local . "Good morning friends of Onda Local, thank you for following us on Facebook Live," starts López. He continues on with the latest numbers of victims of the government's crackdown, at least 317 killed and thousands injured by masked armed supporters of Ortega, according to nongovernmental organizations in Nicaragua and the United Nations human rights agency.