What is the newspaper article by which Chavismo seized the siege of El Nacional

Last Friday, the Venezuelan justice completed the seizure of facilities The National, the last stronghold of the independent press that still exists in Venezuela. It is the result of a long, six-year process that began with the newspaper publishing an article indicating that Diosdado Cabello was under investigation by the US justice for drug trafficking.

The newspaper building embargo was made to cover the $ 13 million that a court ordered to pay the Venezuelan regime’s number two in a libel suit. “In addition to representing an attack on freedom of expression, the penalty is disproportionate”said about the episode an editor of The National posted this Friday.

However, the 2015 article that elicited such a reaction from one of Chavism’s most powerful men He only quoted information from two other major international media: The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Yes ABC, and this information then published was not only refused, but has been emphatically ratified by reality in the years since then.

This article is no longer available on the The National, for reasons which are not yet entirely clear. On the other hand, it is possible to find the initial investigation WSJ it was based on.

“United States prosecutors are investigating several senior Venezuelan officials, including the President of the National Assembly, suspected of having turned the country into a global center of cocaine trafficking and money laundering “, declared in 2015 the WST on the number two of Chavism in the text cited later by The National.

““ There is ample evidence to justify that he is one of the leaders, if not the leader, of the cartel “, said the head of the US Department of Justice, referring to a group of military officers and senior officials suspected of being involved in drug trafficking, “the newspaper quoted at the time.

In the case of the Spanish newspaper ABC, in May 2015 published an article titled: “Venezuelan number two Cabello sent drugs to Europe via Spain,” in which, according to sources from the US Anti-Narcotics Agency (DEA, for its acronym in English), they describe the route of the Venezuelan drug, and its links with political power. The cover of this edition of the newspaper was titled: “Chavismo Uses Spain As A Center For The Distribution Of Medicines In Europe”.

According to research at the time, the 90% of Colombian drug production was distributed from Venezuela, reaching about five tonnes per week. It is drugs that reach the United States and Europe, Spain being an important point in the routes taken by the mafias, including mainly Cartel of the suns, the parastatal organization of the Venezuelan narco.

“Its name comes from the suns that Venezuelan generals wear on their epaulettes”, rebuilt ABC.

The Wall Street JournalFor his part, he said that drug trafficking in Venezuela had grown dramatically after the fight that the authorities had waged in Colombia. “Many Colombian traffickers have transferred their operations to the neighboring country”, the detailed article, cited later by The National.

US security agencies, cited by the WST, noted that they had accelerated their investigations over the past two years, a period during which Venezuela’s economy deteriorated considerably. Creeping crime had skyrocketed, turning Venezuela is the most violent country on the continent and has motivated people to emigrate.

“In January, American researchers made a large capture when the Navy Captain Leamsy Salazar defected and was taken to Washington. Salazar, who had led Cabello’s security team, told US officials he was witness that he supervised the shipment of a large shipment of cocaine from the Paraguaná peninsula, Venezuela», Picked up the American newspaper.

Cabello publicly criticized his former bodyguard, assuring that he did not lead his security team and describing him as an “infiltrator” who has no proof of his involvement in drug trafficking.

Cabello was Minister of Public Works – which also gave him control of airports and ports – and also Minister of the Interior, Vice President and President of the National Assembly. Many analysts and politicians in Venezuela say they believe Cabello’s power rivals that of Maduro and relies on his influence among Venezuelan generals.

Julio Rodríguez, a retired colonel who has known Cabello from his days at the military academy, said the former president of the National Assembly tHe has close ties to half of the lieutenant-colonels currently in charge of the battalions in Venezuela.

Previous complaints

In March 2020, the US Department of Justice announced narco-terrorism charges against key figures in the Chavist regime, Yes offered a $ 15 million reward with information leading to the arrest and prosecution of Nicolás Maduro.

The Attorney General, William Barr noted that the The border between Colombia and Venezuela was taken over by FARC dissidents under the protection of Maduro. For this reason, he accused the regime of plotting with the FARC to “flood the United States with drugs”. Barr added that it is estimated that between 200 and 250 tons of cocaine are shipped out of Venezuela through criminal alliance routes, equivalent to up to 30 million lethal doses.

The Department also offers rewards of up to $ 10 million each for information related to God gave hair, head of the National Constituent Assembly; el general (retired) Hugo Carvajal Barrios, former director of military intelligence of Venezuela (DGCIM); Yes Tareck El Aissami, Minister of Petroleum. “While holding key positions in Maduro’s regime, these individuals violated public trust by facilitating drug shipments from Venezuela, including the control of planes leaving a Venezuelan air base, as well as the control of routes to the drug. Through the ports of Venezuela, ”they accused in a statement.

Among other officials and leaders, he also involved Maikel Moreno, President of the Supreme Court, Vladimir’s godfather, Minister of Defense, as the main actor of the penal system, and Samark Lopez Bello, a businessman with a series of crimes related to money laundering in favor of Maduro and El Aissami.

Clíver AlcaláA (retired) Venezuelan Army Major General was also on the list, but surrendered to Colombian authorities and was subsequently extradited to the United States.

Reactions of the Inter-American Press Association after the embargo

The Chairman of the Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA), Carlos jornet, expressed this Friday his solidarity with the directors and staff of The National. “We had already warned the end that this story would have, knowing that in Venezuela justice is subject to political power and that the regime uses it as a ram against everything that disturbs it“Said the director also of the newspaper The voice from within from Argentina.

Jornet regretted that politico-judicial force continues to be used to usurp The National and Venezuelan independent journalism. In the recent biannual press freedom report on Venezuela, the IAPA warned that “It is still at the same critical level as in recent years. It is an implacable dictatorship which sees independent journalism as a permanent enemy ”.

“The Venezuelan regime has intensified violence and judicial harassment against journalists; It has closed eight stations, and digital media pages suffer from discretionary lockdowns and are preparing to pass legislation to regulate social media, ”the report said, after which the IAPA passed a resolution against Maduro’s regime.

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