What was the single most dramatic event in journalism in 1897?
That had to have been the Cisneros jailbreak in Havana, organized by Hearst’s New York Journal . I alluded to this case earlier. It was truly an amazing episode, but one that has been largely forgotten. When it is remembered, the Cisneros jailbreak is usually dismissed as a hoax or a put-up job in which well-placed bribes made the dramatic escape possible. My research indicates otherwise: It was not a hoax, it was not a put-up job. Rather, the Cisneros jailbreak was the successful result of an intricate plot in which clandestine Cuban operatives and U.S. diplomatic personnel filled vital rolesroles that remained obscure for more than 100 years. Evangelina Cisneros was jailed for conspiring against the Spanish military, which was then trying to put down a rebellion across much of Cuba. She was accused of conspiracy to commit murder, and was kept in jail for more than a year without trial. Hearst and his Journal learned of the young woman’s plight and mounted a noisy petition drive calli
