Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal, one of the country's most influential newspapers, published an editorial about El Diario containing so many inaccuracies that we are compelled to respond.

The editorial attempts to tarnish this newspaper's 97-year reputation over the arrest last month of former employee Vicky Pelaez in what became the biggest Russian spy story in recent history. It relies on unsubstantiated charges, such as "the Cuban government paid for Pelaez' trip to the island in 2006," which is blatantly false. This paper paid for Pelaez and a photographer to travel to Cuba to cover what appeared at the time to be the final days of Fidel Castro.

The arrest of Pelaez was shocking to the entire staff of El Diario, an institution with a tradition of giving voice to readers who know the difference between the acts of a single individual and a paper with an almost 100-year history. This history reflects a commitment to journalistic integrity and the promotion of civic engagement. Our "Ya es Hora" citizenship drive is just one example.

When Pelaez and others pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as unregistered agents of a foreign government, we felt betrayed, both as journalists and as Americans. And while none of the charges against Pelaez involved her work for this paper, in the interest of transparency, we are assembling an independent academic commission to review our editorial practices. We know that maintaining trust is at the essence of what we do.

We are surprised that so many of the statements in yesterday's Wall Street Journal ran without the appropriate verification. We subscribe to the highest standards of journalism, integrity and free exchange of ideas and would expect the same from one of the most prominent newspaper companies in our nation.