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A report from Radio and Television Marti, also called the liberal philanthropist George Soros, is presented above, "the architect of the 2008 financial collapse." (Luke Macgregor / Reuters)
Felicia Sonmez
National Journalist in the Washington Post Political Press Team
A US government agency launched an internal investigation after broadcasting a Spanish-language program earlier this year, describing George Soros as a "multimillionaire Jew" and adopting billionaire philanthropist conspiracy theories.
The 15-minute report was broadcast in May by Radio and Television Martí, which broadcasts news and other programs promoting the interests of the United States to the Cuban public.
The program qualifies Soros as a "morally unfriendly Jew practicing a flexible morality," claiming that he was involved in "clandestine operations that led to the dismantling of the Soviet Union" and describes it as "the only one in the world." architect of the financial collapse of 2008 ".
He also refers several times to Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group that has launched an "Expose Soros" fundraising campaign and whose director of investigation and research has recently claimed without evidence that the "State Department" occupied by Soros "financed the caravan of migrants. way to the United States.
John F. Lansing, CEO and director of the US Agency for World Media, who oversees the headquarters of Radio and Television Martí's main office, said in a statement Monday that an investigation was underway and that the video segment was "incompatible with our professional standards and ethics."
"Those deemed responsible for this production will immediately be put on administrative leave pending an investigation into their apparent misconduct," Lansing said. "Appropriate disciplinary measures under the federal law may then be proposed, including the eventual dismissal of officials, depending on the outcome of the investigation".
USAGM, formerly known as the Board of Broadcast Governors, oversees the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, to which Radio and Television Martí belongs.
The videos were first broadcast on Friday by the Cuban Triangle, a blog affiliated with Cuba's non-profit research center, and have also been reported by Mother Jones. The original videos were taken from the Radio and Television Martí website, but excerpts are still available on YouTube.
In an interview with the Washington Post on Monday night, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) said he is delighted that the USAGM is taking steps to discipline the program's employees.
"At best, television and radio Martí are not at all relevant," said Flake, who has long argued that the broadcaster was inefficient and was wasting federal funds. But "when you have a program like this, essentially to tarnish George Soros and provide a platform for anti-Semitic views, to be paid by the American taxpayer," then things have reached a new "pernicious" level, has he declared.
In a first statement to Mother Jones on Friday, Tomás Regalado, director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, acknowledged that the anti-Soros program "did not have the required balance", though it was not a good thing to say. he defended Judicial Watch as "a good source". Regalado, who was previously mayor of Miami, also said that he had become director of the office after the broadcast of the program.
Flake then attracted attention Saturday at the show with a tweet in which he called it "taxpayer funded anti-Semitism". He then sent a letter to Lansing on Monday asking for an investigation into how the program would be created.
"At a time when hateful rhetoric is having a devastating impact on the United States, it is irresponsible on the part of any federal government agency to perpetuate unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that, far from supporting the objectives of the policy. American foreign worker, work against them, "Flake wrote. .
Although the show was broadcast earlier this year, the news was announced a week after Soros was part of a group of prominent Democrats and critics of President Trump, who were caught targeted by mail bombs allegedly sent by a Florida man.
The fear of anti-Semitism and political violence in the United States also increased following Saturday's mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue. Eleven people were killed and six wounded during the massacre, which was the deadliest attack on Jews in US history.
Radio Martí began broadcasting in Cuba in 1985; Five years later, TV Martí did the same. Critics argue that the emissions, which are largely blocked by the Cuban government, have a dubious quality and have had only negligible effects on Cuban society, although defenders argue that they defend the interests of the United States. United and is a useful alternative to the media managed by the island.
Regalado was appointed director of the Cuban Broadcasting Bureau in June. He took over from André Mendes, acting director, who resigned following reports of internal disturbances.
Karen DeYoung and Sean Sullivan contributed to this report.
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