VEN INFO OFFICE - Action: Miami Herald Presents Venezuelan Opposition Claims as Facts

[magbana]

VIO Venezuela News and Action

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Over the past few weeks, a number of US media outlets have reported on Venezuelan opposition allegations that corruption charges brought against opposition leader Manuel Rosales are evidence of "political persecution." More often than not these outlets fail to inform the public that pro-government officials have also had to face corruption charges themselves, a fact that discredits the notion that the Venezuelan judiciary is engaged in selective prosecution. You can read a news article on one such case here (http://www.rethinkvenezuela.com/news/05-07-09ap.html).

MIAMI HERALD PRESENTS VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION CLAIMS AS FACT

On Friday of last week, a piece in the Miami Herald went much further than previous news articles, by actually presenting the opposition's claim as fact. In an article entitled "Hugo Chávez tightens control by silencing adversaries"(http://www.miamiherald.com/579/story/1038279.html) reporter Tyler Bridges states that President Hugo Chavez "chased a political rival out of Venezuela on charges of stealing public funds" in reference to Manuel Rosales' decision to take up exile in Peru rather than face corruption charges in the Venezuelan courts. The article also accuses Chavez of jailing a "former loyal general on corruption charges" and taking over nearly the entire budget of Caracas' new mayor, Antonio Ledezma.

Although it is not unusual for the Miami Herald to publish biased and one-sided accounts of Venezuelan current events, this latest piece crosses the line of ethical journalism by directly incorporating the talking points of sectors of the Venezuelan opposition into its news reporting.

WRITE TO THE EDITORS OF THE MIAMI HERALD

Please write to the editors of the Miami Herald to remind them that, though they may dislike the Venezuelan government, they still have a duty to report facts as facts and opinions as opinions in order to permit their readers to have a genuine understanding of Venezuela's complex political reality. Tell the Herald that they should cease to present unsubstantiated claims as if they were objective facts, and should introduce more balance and more diverse perspectives in their news reporting.

Send a concise message of no more than 200 words to: [e-mail] and remember to include your full name, address and daytime phone number.

Here are some points you can raise in your letter:

- There is no evidence to back the article's assertion that President Hugo Chavez "chased a political rival out of Venezuela on charges of stealing public funds." In fact, Manuel Rosales decided to flee the country rather than face corruption charges in court.

- There is no evidence of irregularities or of violation of due process rights in the judicial process surrounding the Rosales case. As early as 2004, the Comptroller's Office began an investigation on the potential misuse of public funds by Rosales during the years 2002-2004, when he was governor of the state of Zulia. In 2007, the Comptroller's Office asked the Attorney General's office to act, based on the results of the investigation. And in late 2008, a public prosecutor in Zulia filed criminal charges against Rosales that held him responsible for acquiring private land, filling offshore bank accounts with public money, and accepting bribes from private companies seeking contracts with the State. Rosales was summoned to appear in court on April 20th but instead chose to seek asylum in Peru.

- The Venezuelan opposition's argument that the country's judicial branch is controlled by President Chavez and engaged in selective prosecution of the government's political adversaries does not stand up to scrutiny. The crack down on corruption that has taken place in recent months has led to charges being brought against both opposition and pro-government officials, including the ex governor Yaracuy, Carlos Giménez, and the former mayor of Caracas, Juan Barreto. Unfortunately, much of the US press, including the Miami Herald, fails to inform readers of the cases of indicted pro-government officials leaving readers with a skewed vision of how the judiciary really functions in Venezuela.

- Similarly, the Herald article reports that "Security agents with guns drawn arrested former Gen. Raúl Isaias Baduel" ostensibly for being "his fiercest foe within the armed forces." Baduel was in fact arrested, in accordance with the law, after having failed to appear in court seven times to testify regarding the disappearance of over $14 million during his tenure as defense minister.

- The article asserts that "many analysts" are comparing Venezuela to Peru under Alberto Fujimori, who "ran roughshod over the country's constitution, controlled most media outlets and repressed the opposition selectively..." The Herald, however, fails to offer any real evidence that Chavez has done any of these things.

- The article states that Chavez has "near control of the airwaves" following the non-renewal of the broadcast license of RCTV. This is a blatant falsehood given that private media broadcasters still retain control of over 70% of the airwaves.

- According to the Herald piece, Caracas police broke up a union protest "with tear gas and rubber bullets" when in fact those measures were taken against a group of opposition protesters who tried to pass over police barricades and take the march down an unauthorized route. The only serious injuries reported were of police officers who were injured by rocks and glass bottles that were thrown at them.

- Most absurdly, the article suggests the government is purging public libraries of books by Arturo Uslar Pietri, Antoine de Saint-Exupery and Alfred Hitchcock because they "write about the values of capitalism and consumer society." None of these authors have previously been associated with any form of capitalist ideology nor have they ever been the object of criticism from the Venezuelan government. In response to various articles that have reported on these claims in Venezuela's private media, the National Autonomous Library Institute and Library Services General Director, Ignacio Barreto, denounced the accusations as false and, in an open letter written on March 31st, explained that the only books that have been removed from libraries (but not destroyed) are those that are no longer useable due to their deteriorated state.

[EFerrari]

1. LOL! Hitch was a huge critic of capitalism. These people

really WILL print anything!

[EFerrari]

2. I just read another article by "Tyler Bridges".

He's definitely on the payroll. Wow.