Goodbye to Carlos Hernández, Journalist and War Correspondent

This Tuesday, the journalism profession mourned the loss of Carlos Hernández de Miguel, who died at 57. He was a committed reporter—one who not only reported the news but also became part of it.

War Reporting and the Iraq Conflict

As Antena 3’s correspondent in the Iraq War, Hernández will be remembered for the moment he stepped in for Telecinco after the U.S. military strike on the Palestine Hotel, which claimed the life of cameraman José Couso.

A Brief Yet Impactful Legacy at Fuerteventura Digital

At Fuerteventura Digital, he left a modest but cherished legacy. Shortly after the outlet’s relaunch, in June 2025, he visited Tefía and gave a class that combined history and journalism inside the former Agricultural Penitentiary Colony.

There he recounted testimonies about the hardships endured by inmates of the Francoist facility, which operated for twelve years, until 1966, and housed hundreds of people labeled by the regime as “parasites” or “undesirables.” At least **10 % of the prisoners—around thirty to forty individuals—were homosexuals punished under the Law of Vagrants and Delinquents.

“In the Canary Islands there was no front line, but the repression was exactly as savage as elsewhere.”

Research on Historical Memory

For Hernández, Tefía was not a mere anecdote; it confirmed that repression in the Canaries was as brutal as on the mainland. He documented the persecution of Spanish citizens in two books:

• Los últimos españoles de Mauthausen – giving voice to survivors of Nazi horror.
• Los campos de concentración de Franco – an investigation covering nearly 300 camps across Spain, including five in the Canary Islands (La Isleta, Gando, Los Rodeos, and the later camps of Puerto del Rosario).

In an interview with our outlet, he explained that his turn toward historical memory was not accidental but stemmed from a personal debt. Learning that his uncle had been among the thousands of Spaniards deported to the Nazi concentration camp Mauthausen sparked the drive that defined the final stage of his career.

Condolences

Fuerteventura Digital extends its deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.

Rest in peace.