Venezuelan journalist Alberto Nolia. File photo.
On October 3, the death of Alberto Nolia at age 70 was announced. Nolia was a Venezuelan journalist and analyst known several years ago for his outspoken defense of the Bolivarian Revolution. He hosted the weekly program Los Papeles de Mandinga on Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
Ernesto Villegas, journalist and Venezuelan culture minister, mourned Nolia’s passing on social media: “I met him at El Nuevo País, the newspaper where I got my start as a reporter back in 1991. Alberto Nolia was deputy editor of the paper founded and directed by [far-right] Rafael Poleo. Today I learned of his departure and walked down memory lane to those days when our paths crossed. Among my papers and memories, I keep some anecdotes with Nolia—we called him that because of his surname—that I hope to publish one day as an homage to a unique and unrepeatable historical moment. I send my sincere condolences to his family and friends who mourn his loss today.”
Nolia hosted Los Papeles de Mandinga and La Réplica, both broadcast on VTV and YouTube, where he discussed current events with a personal, highly critical, and straightforward approach. In an interview with journalist Ernesto J. Navarro on Alba Ciudad radio in August 2013, Nolia explained his departure from VTV was due to disagreements over the Disarmament Law when Tareck El Aissami was interior minister.
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On Saturday, October 4, journalist Clodovaldo Hernández wrote on social media that Nolia may deserve posthumous redress, pointing out that his criticism of certain Venezuelan government officials—who were later found to have committed serious acts of corruption—led to his removal from media spaces and isolation by some Chavista leaders.
Nolia was an outspoken critic of Tareck El Aissami and the corruption when El Aissami led state oil company PDVSA. History has shown that Nolia’s criticism and firm stances were justified. He eventually moved to Spain, where he passed away.
(Alba Ciudad) by Luigino Bracci with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/JB
