Censorship in Venezuela: the Maduro dictatorship removed the German channel DW from subscription TV programming

84

The report in which Germany’s DW talks about corruption in Venezuela

A new case of censorship takes place in Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuela. This Monday, the Chavista dictatorship removed the German channel Deutsche Welle (DW) from subscription TV programming, following a report in which that medium denounces corruption within the regime and links to organized crime.

In a video of just over a minute, the German media refers to last year’s report from Transparency International that places Venezuela as the second most corrupt country in the world.

DW further reports that “high-ranking politicians participate in the Cartel of the Suns, a criminal network composed mainly of military personnel.” “They traffic cocaine, illegally mined gold and extort. Those involved have made a lot of money,” says the German network on its social networks.

And he adds: “The Cartel of the Suns has the support of mayors and governors in key regions for drug trafficking. It is not known if Maduro plays an active role, but the judiciary is involved in the process and tends to be permissive with the president’s Executive.”

In the report, the Deutsche Welle journalist also talks about the “Venezuelan state mafia.”

After the publication of this work, the Chavista dictatorship did not take long to respond. The regime’s Minister of Communication and Information, Freddy Ñáñez, described this information as “fake” and denounced the German news agency for defaming and spreading hatred against Venezuela.

Hours later, several journalists reported that the regime had removed the German network from television programming.

“Simple TV channel 770 has stopped transmitting the @dw_espanol signal in Venezuela. More censorship. More silence,” denounced the journalist of the newspaper Tal Cual, Víctor Amaya.

Several users began to replicate the information and others confirmed that they no longer saw the Spanish version of the German media in their programming.

Last November, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) denounced that in Venezuela, “just as it has been for many years,” the “constant and systematic censorship regime” that “generates self-censorship among the independent” media is maintained.

According to preliminary data from Espacio Público provided to the EFE agency in January, 383 violations of freedom of expression were recorded last year. Likewise, the NGO reported that the number in January of this year was 24.

In a press release, the NGO noted that the majority of documented violations were “acts of censorship, intimidation and attacks on journalists, media outlets, activists and civil society organizations.”

He assured that the State “remains the main victimizer and aggressor of free expression in the country,” pointing to institutions, security forces and officials, as well as “sympathizers of the ruling party,” among those responsible for these violations.