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Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald reporter Nora Gámez Torres wins Maria Moors Cabot prize

Nora Gámez Torres, the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald reporter who has spent more than a decade chronicling the dramatic changes inside Cuba, including daily life amid a collapsing economy, has been awarded the prestigious Maria Moors Cabot Prize for career excellence. Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism announced Wednesday that Gámez Torres, a reporter with McClatchy newspapers, the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald, is among this year's winners for 'her fair, accurate and groundbreaking journalism.' She will be awarded the Cabot Gold Medal, the university said, at a ceremony in October. Gámez Torres is the 17th Herald journalist to win the lifetime achievement prize, the oldest award in international journalism and the most prestigious for coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Cuba-born journalist also joins a prestigious list of Cubans and Cuban Americans who have also been honored over the years by the Cabot jury for promoting inter-American understanding of life under Cuba's communist regime. 'For more than a decade, Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald correspondent Nora Gámez Torres has provided deeply reported, compelling coverage of Cuba, becoming the most authoritative voice on the island nation in the U.S. media,' the announcement said. Gámez Torres, who came to the Herald from academia, first joined el Nuevo Herald in 2014. Since then, her coverage has become a go-to resource for everyone from relatives living in the U.S. seeking information about what's happening on the island to policy hawks trying to carve out U.S. policy. Her essential coverage of U.S.-Cuba relations and historic developments on the island often beats Havana-based competition, although she has not been allowed inside Cuba for nine years, the Cabot jury noted. 'With Cuban media under tight government control, many Cubans also learn about events in their own country through her reporting,' said the judges. The Maria Moors Cabot jury highlighted Gámez Torres' reporting on the pivotal role that Cuban Americans in Miami played in the return of capitalist enterprises to Cuba; her exclusives on the Havana Syndrome illness that struck U.S. diplomats, and the arrest of a former U.S. ambassador in Miami who pleaded guilty to acting as a foreign agent for Cuba. Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited her reporting during his confirmation hearing to become the Trump administration's top diplomat. During questioning about U.S. policy toward Cuba, Rubio referenced Gámez Torres exposé on how Cuba's military-run conglomerate, GAESA, has been hoarding billions of dollars in its secret accounts while the population suffers from electrical blackouts and starvation. Cuba runs one of the world's best intelligence services. Gámez Torres series, based on leaked documents, wasn't just a testament to her sourcing but her years of trusted reporting. The stories marked the first time internal information from GAESA's accounting system had been publicly disclosed. 'Nora embodies the spirit of courageous journalism that the Cabot Prize represents. Her work has consistently illuminated complex issues with depth, clarity and fearlessness,' said Alex Mena, executive editor of the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald. 'We are incredibly proud to see her named a Cabot Prize winner. It is a well-deserved honor and a powerful recognition of the impact of her reporting.' In addition to her investigations on government mismanagement and corruption, Gámez's reporting portfolio includes stories on human rights violations and political repression inside Cuba. That includes stories on the unprecedented anti-government protests in July 2021, the surprising return of capitalism to the island and the historic exodus of Cubans fleeing extreme poverty and repression. As a result of her hard hitting reports, she has been a frequent target of attacks by Cuban state media and state security forces. 'It is with great gratitude that I accept the María Moors Cabot award, which is also a testament to the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald's commitment to covering Cuba and the Cuban American community in South Florida,' Gámez Torres said. 'Throughout my time at the Herald, I have been inspired and mentored by colleagues and friends who have won this prestigious award. And I am honored to continue the line of Cuba-born journalists who have received this distinction.' That list includes former Herald foreign correspondent and assistant world editor Juan Tamayo and former Herald publisher and former head of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Alberto Ibargüen, who received a special citation along with Cuban dissident and blogger Yoani Sanchez. While Cuba and the Cuban American diaspora are her speciality, Gámez Torres also reports on U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean. More recently, she has also been involved in reporting on the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Gámez Torres, the Cabot jury said, 'keeps both governments in her sights; she reported on a Cuban woman who was detained while doing a routine ICE check-in and then deported, leaving a still breastfeeding daughter and American husband behind.' Gámez Torres has been part of winning investigative teams, including those behind the Panama Papers, the Odebrecht series and the Bribery Division series in partnership with other national and international media outlets. Her work has been recognized by the Florida Society of News Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists and others. Gámez first studied journalism at the University of Havana, where she later taught Media Theory. She has a Ph.D in Sociology from City University of London and a Master of Science in Media and Communications from the London School of Economics.