Eric Volz' Gringo Nightmare

There’s a book out today I heartily recommend. In 2006 the American Eric Volz was living in Nicaragua and was falsely accused of brutally murdering his ex-girlfriend Doris Jimenez. At the time, I was consulting on Eric’s exciting new bi-lingual magazine project, El Puente (The Bridge). Eric had become a young leader in Nicaragua, even attracting the warm attention of high-ranking government officials for the good work he was doing in the country.

But in the wake of the re-election of the former Sandinista President Daniel Ortega, Eric’s life quickly turned to a nightmare during Thanksgiving week, 2006 after he was arrested for Doris’ murder.

It was nearly a year later, after a press conference in which U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made mention of our government’s expectation of his release, that it was finally granted.

But all was not as it seemed. While it had become apparent that Eric’s case had become a tool for geopolitical leverage for the new Nica government with respect to their relations with the U.S., the true story of Eric’s conviction and eventual release hasn’t been told until today. It’s a tale you’ll hardly believe; filled with intrigue, violence, sex, a heroic former CIA agent, Soviet MiG’s, and a staredown with the U.S. State Department.

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/ctrl-v/2010/04/eric-volz-gringo-nightmare.html