Image Courtesy of Guaita family
CV NEWS FEED // In the wake of Nicolás Maduro’s highly controversial presidential election, his government has had at least six journalists arrested, the highest number of jailed journalists in decades.
Havana Times reports these journalists face charges of terrorism, instigation of violence, and hate crimes. Many of the journalists were arrested while covering protests against the current administration. If convicted, these journalists could face 30 years in prison.
“Venezuela’s press freedom erosion predated the election,” Havana Times stated, “as the Maduro government has closed TV and radio stations, blocked news websites, confiscated newspapers, and fomented fear and self-censorship over its 11 years in power.”
However, since the election, “the situation has deteriorated precipitously,” as the government has imposed internet shutdowns and blocked communication platforms.
Maduro’s regime has also taken journalist Ana Carolina Guaita hostage, offering to release her only if her mother, Xiomara Barreto, who worked on the opposition campaign, turned herself in.
Barreto rejected the proposal and remains in hiding. In a voice recording posted on social media after Guiata’s arrest, Barreto told the government, “You are doing great damage to an innocent person just because you were unable to arrest me.”
Other journalists are fleeing Venezuela to avoid arrest. One of these journalists stated anonymously, “There is so much dread,” adding that government authorities “don’t care that you are innocent. Never before have I felt so fragile and vulnerable.”
The journalists who remain in Venezuela are taking precautions like staying off camera, leaving their bylines off of their articles, erasing photos, texts, and emails from their phones, going to opposition rallies undercover, or avoiding these protests altogether.
One project called Operación Retuit (Operation Retweet) publishes journalists’ stories and narrates them with AI avatars to protect the journalists.
Havana Times states that more than 2,000 “anti-government protesters and opposition activists” have been arrested since the election on July 28. Maduro’s opponent, Edmundo González, fled to Spain for political asylum.
