The journalistic investigation portal Armando.Info responded to the accusations of the attorney general, Tarek William Saab, who links two of his partners – directors with the PDVSA-Cripto corruption plot.
«The accusations fabricated by Tarek William Saab from the Public Ministry, a body that he has placed at the service of the Executive Branch, only ratify the importance of Alex Saab in the corrupt environment of Nicolás Maduro; and they constitute evidence of a new and desperate attempt on his part to prevent the circulation of relevant information about the merchant of Colombian origin,” he states in a statement published on his website.
They consider it to be a maneuver to stop the broadcast of the documentary A Dangerous Pattern: Uncovering Corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela scheduled for May 14 on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the United States public television network.
«This is, without a doubt, a very clumsy and improvised maneuver that the regime has concocted to try to discredit Armando.infoto intimidate their journalists in order to prevent the dissemination of the documentary and, in short, to silence our media, an independent voice that is about to celebrate ten years uncovering the regime’s biggest corruption scandals,” they highlight.
Prevent documentary transmission
The documentary was a collaboration of Armando.info and Frontlin. It lasts 83 minutes, where it tells how journalist Roberto Deniz discovered and exposed the businesses of Colombian contractor Alex Saab.
It was directed by Andrés Ravell and the production had the support of Luminate and Free Press Unlimited.
“In 2018, Deniz and three other founding directors of Armando.info had to flee Venezuela,” he says.
And he adds: «After four years of production, the documentary “A Dangerous Assignment: Uncovering Corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela” presents new revelations about Alex Saab’s businesses and connections. Our partner in the project, Frontline, is the longest-running and most prestigious investigative documentary series on American television, governed – like Armando.info – by the highest journalistic values, and recent winner of the Academy Award in the “Best Documentary” category.
In the document, they state that “the assertions of prosecutor Tarek William Saab are not only laughable, but also implausible. Long before his office denounced the existence of this plot, Armando.info had already denounced, with evidence of verified facts, how PDVSA, in an effort to evade the sanctions imposed by the United Stateshad handed over to several intermediaries close to the government the marketing of oil for all Venezuelans.
“Also We have revealed, for at least seven years, the shady dealings and connections of Samark López with high officials of the self-proclaimed bolivarian revolution, which makes the Prosecutor’s complaint even more absurd, based on an alleged “confession” by López himself, the alleged front man and accomplice of the arrested and accused Tareck el Aissami.
Armando.info satisfied with the signs of support
He also thanked the media and journalists for their support in the case.
“We appreciate these expressions of support, which in these times is crucial and decisive in overcoming disinformation and stigmatization campaigns against the practice of independent journalism and, in this case, Armando.info,” he highlights.
He stated that they will continue to inform Venezuelans and denounce cases of corruption in the country.
«The strategy of criminalizing the exercise of journalism from power, a trademark of the Nicolás Maduro regime, has recently reached levels never before seen in the modern history of Venezuela. But Armando.info will not give up in its effort to continue doing investigative journalism, with international standards and without responding to particular interests, to inform its users and followers about matters of obvious collective and historical interest,” he concluded.
The prosecutor’s accusations
This Tuesday, Saab linked the communicators Daniel Lara Farías, Wender Villalobos, Norbey Marín, Sebastiana Barráez and Maibort Petit in the El Aissami corruption scheme. He further said that there was a relationship with Roberto Deniz and Ewald Scharfenberg.
“Juan Almeida was in charge of multiplying the impact of these campaigns through ghost accounts that they paid for and maintained on social networks,” he said.
He added that they received or receive financing from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
In a new confession, Samark López reported that Tareck El Aissami had at his service an extortionate media structure used to attack people who did not align with his plans or interests.#VenezuelaNewspic.twitter.com/v2Bj2ptJ6S
— Venezuela News Agency (@VNVenezuelanews) May 7, 2024
The entry Armando.info: Accusations fabricated by the MP confirm the importance of Alex Saab in Maduro’s corrupt environment was first published in EL NACIONAL.