A New York Times report denied that a Maduro activist had burned a truck

A report revealed by the New York Times denies versions that were Maduro activists who burned humanitarian aid during the month of February.

March 11, 2019

Unpublished images published by the American newspaper The New York Timesthey revealed that it is not the Venezuelan forces responsible for the fire who destroyed American rescue trucks on the border between Venezuela and Colombia on February 23.

Shortly after the incident in which two of the four trucks carrying humanitarian aid, various US authorities regretted the fact and claimed that the fire had been committed by Venezuelan forces under the command of President Nicolás Maduro. The action sparked rejection and hundreds of blankets around the world under the title that the Venezuelan government had burned humanitarian aid sent to its people.

However, after an investigation, the NYT new images accessed show that, in reality, It was the anti-government protesters who set the trucks on fire.

In the video released by the US media, you can see the moment when one of the protesters threw a homemade bomb against the Venezuelan police that was blocking the bridge between Colombia and Venezuelato prevent the entry of trucks. You can also see how the rag used to light the Molotov badtail separates from the bottle and goes to the help truck.

Seconds later, the truck is on fire. The same protester can be seen 20 minutes earlier, in a different video, attacking another truck with a Molotov badtail, without setting it on fire.

The inquiry asks how the US government immediately attributed this fact to the Bolivarian forces, without having proof of that. He stressed that even important international organizations such as the United Nations and the governments of several countries have disseminated this information without evidence.

The Colombian government, which had not been authorized by the Venezuelan government and which had brought humanitarian aid to Venezuela, sent the videos of the security cameras on the bridge to US officials and police. Colombian journalists.

As stated in article e NYT These images were mounted to show circles around Venezuelan security forces throwing cans of tear gas into the aid convoy. Subsequent images show the beginning of the fire in the truck, suggesting that Venezuelan officials were responsible for it.

The complaint is that these images jump a period of 13 minutes before the start of the fire. The complete video was not provided by Bogota, despite repeated requests from The New York Times.

There were no drugs

The note also points out that the claim that trucks were carrying drugs and therefore that Maduro "was burning drugs" was not like that, according to videos and interviews.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the main provider of bridge badistance to cross from Cucuta, did not have drugs among the items advertised as a donation. A senior official who was on the bridge that day in February told the New York Times that the burned cargo contained supplies such as gloves and face masks, but no medicine.

The Times' videos show that some boxes contain hygiene and care kits that, according to what Americans have identified on their lists, contain supplies such as soap and toothpaste.