Miami.com covers armed standoff in own office

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Miami.com - the website of the Miami Herald - managed to cover a three-hour armed standoff in its own office after a freelancer stormed in with what was believed to be a MAC 11 submachine gun.

The Herald building was evacuated as Jose Verela, a freelance cartoonist for El Nuevo Herald (a Spanish language paper owned by the Miami Herald) took over the editor's office in El Nuevo's sixth floor newsroom. The cartoonist staged the protest after claiming that the paper had censored his work.

A handful of staff remained in the Herald's fifth floor newsroom to cover the story as it happened, updating the website regularly and even displaying examples of Varela's work.

Police negotiated a peaceful end shortly after 2pm on Friday. Nobody was hurt in the incident and, after Vererla was taken into custody, it was confirmed that he had been carrying a fake gun.

Miami.com reported that Varela, who was charged with three counts of aggravated assault, was also armed with a hunting knife with a six-inch blade.

While barricaded in the office, Varela telephoned Miami attorney Joe Garcia, declaring his intention to take control of the newspaper and demanding the resignation of the editor. He was also reported as saying he believed that Cuban exiles were not treated sympathetically.

Several staff members at El Nuevo Herald had been angered by recent Miami Herald coverage of Radio and TV Martí, a US government broadcasting operation that seeks an end to the communist regime of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

According to Miami.com, Miami Herald stories had focused on payments received by several El Nuevo staffers and freelancers for work they conducted for Radio and TV Martí.

In July 2005, the Miami Herald building was the scene of another dramatic armed incident when a former city commissioner shot himself dead in the lobby.