The persecution of journalism in the Venezuela of Nicolás Maduro, axis of a regional debate

Alexander Alfie

05/05/2021 20:38

• Clarín.com

• Politics

Updated 05/05/2021 8:55 PM

The directors and editors of newspapers in the region harshly questioned the persecution of journalism by the Venezuelan government of Nicolás Maduro, repudiated its authoritarian methodologies and expressed solidarity with the newspaper El Nacional, which last month was

sentenced to pay US $ 13 million

for "defame" and cause "moral damage" to Diosdado Cabello, one of the main Chavista officials.

Ricardo Kirschbaum, general editor of

Clarín

, said that this case brought him "reverberation of the situations that we live in Argentina", during the presidential administration of Cristina Kirchner, "because

the intention of authoritarianism is to suppress the media

that are not subordinate to their policies. "

"At the top of this attempt to drown out independent voices today are Venezuelan journalists and their newspaper, El Nacional, from Caracas, which

has always been a benchmark for press freedom in South America,

as witnessed by the many Argentine exiles during the last military dictatorship, "Kirschbaum added.

In 2015, El Nacional reproduced a story published in the Spanish newspaper ABC, which was also broadcast by news agencies and other international media, about Cabello's alleged links with drug trafficking.

That Venezuelan official initiated legal claims against El Nacional and obtained a sentence to pay him US $ 13 million, ratified last month by the Venezuelan Supreme Court, for "defamation" and non-pecuniary damage, which

could lead to the seizure of the newspaper by the Chavista regime

.

Miguel Henrique Otero, editor-in-chief of the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional, speaks from Madrid.

Miguel Henrique Otero, editor-in-chief of El Nacional, assured that "the defamation was not such," because those publications were based on statements by Lieutenant Commander Leamsy Salazar,

former

chief

of security for Hugo Chávez and Cabello himself

, who fled to the United States. United as a protected witness

In addition, the director of the Venezuelan newspaper pointed out that the United States government offered a

reward of US $ 10 million for Cabello, "for his ties to drug trafficking.

The original note was true and that is why the DEA determines that reward. We will continue. fighting, because they want to expropriate our newspaper, "said Otero.

The newspaper El Nacional is going through one of the most complicated moments in its history.

Founded in 1943, three years ago it stopped being printed on paper, due to the restrictions imposed by the Maduro government;

while its directors and journalists suffered threats, attacks on the newsroom and a campaign of discrediting and permanent harassment, which

led Otero to go into exile in Spain

, along with his family.

Regional forum on the case of the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional.

From there, precisely,

the conference entitled

El Nacional: the high cost of reporting was held

, where Fidel Cano, director of El Espectador, from Colombia;

Carlos Pérez Barriga, director of El Universo, from Ecuador;

Armando González, general editor of La Nación, from Costa Rica;

and Bieto Rubido, former director of ABC, from Spain.

In fact, the former editor of the Spanish newspaper recalled how

 ABC published the scoop

on Leamsy Salazar, who was denouncing to the DEA "Cabello's drug trafficking operations. That information hit the Chavista regime hard, because it showed that it was and is a narco-dictatorship, "said Rubido. 

Venezuelan official Cabello also sued The Wall Street Journal, but

his complaint was dismissed by New York judges.

And he announced a lawsuit against the Spanish newspaper ABC, which never came to fruition.