Journalists at the Nicaraguan daily El Nuevo Diario are mourning the loss of the newspaper's founder-publisher, Xavier Chamorro, who died Friday after a long cardiac illness at 75.

Chamorro, brother-in-law of Nicaragua n ex-President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, had suffered from heart problems for four months and in his final days his health had deteriorated, Francisco Chamorro, his son and assistant publisher of El Nuevo Diario, told newswire EFE.

The newspaper's founder was born Dec. 31, 1932, in Managua, where he lived until his last days.

Chamorro was the closest associate of his brother, journalist Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, the publisher of La Prensa de Managua who was murdered on Jan. 10, 1978 by gunmen linked to dictator Anastasio Somoza.

After the assassination of Pedro Joaquín, husband of the future President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, Xavier took over the management of La Prensa together with doctor and journalist Danilo Aguirre.

Nonetheless, in May 1980, Xavier Chamorro, Aguirre and close to 85% of La Prensa employees decided to leave the newspaper in support of the Sandinista government, which had taken power by force of arms on July 19, 1979, and founded El Nuevo Diario.

Chamorro leaves five children: Francisco, Margarita, Gabriel, Ana María and Juan Sebastián Chamorro.