Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife National Assembly Deputy Ciria Flores during the February 4 Chavista demonstration in Caracas. Photo: Presidential Press.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—US news agency Associated Press (AP) corrected almost one week later a “news piece” that it published last Sunday, February 4, regarding statements by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who had supposedly said that he would win the elections “by hook or by crook.”
The AP correction was accompanied by the following note: “This story was initially published on February 4, 2024. It was updated on February 9, 2024, to correct and rephrase it. The Associated Press incorrectly used a quote from President Nicolás Maduro as if he had said it in relation to the next presidential elections scheduled for the second half of 2024. The president used the phrase ‘we are going to win by hook or by crook,’ but in a broader political context and in reference to alleged attempts to disturb peace, not explicitly about the elections.”
AP’s correction note still misleads its readers about the presidential election date, as it has not been announced yet. AP also covered up the truth about the recently unveiled terrorist plots that had been organized by Venezuelan far-right opposition with the help of the DEA and the CIA. Almost 40 individuals have been arrested by Venezuelan authorities, and they have been providing valuable information regarding terrorism and coup attempts.
After the Venezuelan government made strong declarations repudiating the AP piece that took President Maduro’s statements out of context, the US propaganda outlet corrected it on Friday, February 9. This time the AP put in its proper context what President Maduro said during the massive demonstration held in Caracas for the celebration of the 32nd anniversary of the civic-military rebellion of February 4, 1992, led by Commander Hugo Chávez.
La agencia de noticias Associated Press (AP) de los EE. UU., reconoce haber mentido sobre mis declaraciones emitidas durante la Gran Caravana de la Furia Nacional del Pueblo el pasado 4 de febrero. Una vez más se demuestra que la verdad de Venezuela siempre triunfará sobre la… pic.twitter.com/oDQjD1Le0H
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) February 10, 2024
AP’s manipulated “news” was reproduced by a large number of international media outlets which joined the campaign to distort the statements of the Venezuelan president, including the US government’s propaganda outlet Voice of America. These media outlets presented Maduro’s statements of winning “by hook or by crook” as if he was referring to the upcoming presidential elections, when in reality he was talking about defeating the new wave of US and European aggressions against the country after the opposition violated the Barbados Agreement.
Maduro’s reaction
“The Associated Press (AP) news agency of the United States acknowledges having lied about my statements issued during the Great Caravan of National People’s Fury on February 4,” wrote President Maduro in a social media post.
The president added that the correction made by AP shows that “the truth of Venezuela will always triumph over the lies and manipulation of transnational communication companies.”
CNN’s turn to publish fake news
On Friday, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil condemned a fake news campaign launched by CNN about the situation in the Essequibo territory. The US imperialist outlet CNN published an article falsely claiming that Venezuela was gathering military forces near the Essequibo border.
Venezuela Condemns US Interference in Internal Affairs (+Fake Attack on Machado)
Via social media, Minister Gil noted that “they manipulate information obtained through satellite images of the company Maxar, a leading intelligence provider for the US Department of Defense and transnational companies such as ExxonMobil.” He warned of the US attempt to “hide the interest of ExxonMobil” which aims to “seize and illegally exploit a maritime area belonging to Venezuela in waters pending delimitation with Guyana.”
In this situation, Gil stated that Venezuela will take the corresponding diplomatic actions within the framework of international law to fight this new wave of media warfare.
“Venezuela reserves all diplomatic actions and the use of all available measures within the framework of International Law, to guarantee its sovereignty both in the incontrovertibly Venezuelan maritime zone and in the maritime zone pending delimitation with Guyana,” Gil added.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/SC
