This image is the cover for the book Gringo Nightmare

Gringo Nightmare

The harrowing memoir of an American sentenced to prison in Nicaragua for a murder he didn’t commit.

Eric Volz was in his late twenties in 2005 when he moved from California to Nicaragua. He and a friend cofounded a bilingual magazine, El Puente, which became a surprising success. Then Volz fell for a Nicaraguan beauty named Doris Jiménez. Though their romantic relationship ended amicably, and Volz moved his business to the capital city of Managua, the two remained close friends.

Nothing prepared him for the phone call he received on November 21, 2006, when he learned that Doris had been murdered in her seaside clothing boutique. He rushed from Managua to be with her friends and family. But before he knew it, he found himself accused of her murder, arrested, and imprisoned.

Decried in the press and vilified by his onetime friends, Volz suffered horrific conditions, illness, deadly inmates, an angry lynch mob, sadistic guards, and the merciless treatment of government officials. It was only through his dogged perseverance, the tireless support of his friends and family, and the assistance of a former intelligence operative that he was released, in December 2007, after more than a year in prison. In Gringo Nightmare, Volz tells the gripping story of ordeal as only he can.

Eric Volz

ERIC VOLZ was born in Northern California. He is a former magazine publisher and investment consultant, who holds a degree in Latin American Studies from the University of California, San Diego.

In November 2006, while living in Nicaragua, he was falsely accused and wrongfully convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend Doris Jiménez, and consequently sentenced to a 30-year prison term. After spending over a year in the Nicaraguan Prison system, an appeals court overturned the conviction and Volz was released in December of 2007.

Since his release, Volz filed a petition in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, seeking a declaration of his innocence and protection under the American Convention on Human Rights from further persecution by the Government of Nicaragua. Although he is no longer behind bars, his case continues to test the role and authority of a supra-national tribunal with major potential to engage international policy discussions and subsequent reform.

He has been a guest on and featured in The Today Show, CNN, NBC News, PBS, Telemundo and Univision, New York Times, Washington Post, WSJ, People and NPR.

St. Martin’s Press