Prior to 1980, Chamorro Cardenal had worked with
La Prensa, a well-known Conservative publication. It had published criticism of the government. After his brother and editor
Pedro Joaquín was assassinated in 1978 by alleged forces of
Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Xavier took over as editor of the paper. In 1980, he left
La Prensa, taking eighty percent of the staff with him, as they favored the Sandinistas. Together, they founded
El Nuevo Diario, with Chamorro Cardenal as director and editor. The newspaper provided a different political view from that of
La Prensa. The paper shut down in 2019. ==Personal life==