Photo composition showing two individuals escorted by heavily armed security agents, with people protesting in the background, on a red canvas. Photo: Voz Media.
Venezuela’s information minister warned about a new wave of xenophobia supported by a media campaign. The aim of this campaign is to encourage media consumers to associate Venezuelans with armed gangs operating in the US to promote a new wave of xenophobia. This warning was issued by Venezuelan Information Minister Freddy Ñáñez.
In series of posts on social media, Minister Ñáñez noted “the reissue of a media campaign against Venezuela that directly affects our migrant population,” and observed that the campaign is being carried out with “paid [social media] posts” such as those of Voice of America (VOA), a White House-funded outlet, “and a swarm of bots and right-wing influencers which seek to spread a dangerous media trend that falsely links Venezuelans with armed gangs operating in the United States. The new wave of xenophobia is accompanied by an implicit threat from the empire that, since Obama’s Executive Order [declaring Venezuela to be an “extraordinary threat” to the US, issued in 2015], has sought to stigmatize Venezuela.”
#Denuncio la reedición de una campaña mediática en contra de Venezuela que afecta directamente a nuestra población migrante. Con Post pagados como este de @VozdeAmerica (que es el vocero de la Casa Blanca) y un enjambre de bots e influencers de derecha, se pretende inocular una… pic.twitter.com/VIfHh9WzUr
— Alfred Nazareth (@luchaalmada) February 21, 2024
The Venezuelan minister pointed out a Voz Media post and mistakenly referred to it as Voice of America. Voz Media is a media conglomerate, growing at an exorbitant pace, founded in Dallas, Texas, in 2022 by Latino US-born Orlando Salazar, a religious fanatic with strong connections to the Republican Party, especially to the radical Trump wing. In 2023, the Voz Media group bought the MEGA TV group and envisions becoming competition to US Spanish-speaking networks Univision and Telemundo.
Ñáñez inserted a caption showing how the outlet announced an “exclusive,” which states: “Everything you want to know about the Tren de Aragua, the fearsome gang that already operates in the United States. Law enforcement agencies are on alert due to the increase in motorcycle thefts and their possible connection to the dangerous Venezuelan gang.”
The outlet claimed that Venezuelan gangs were responsible for hacking many cell phones to steal funds from users’ bank accounts. It is alleged that Deputy Inspector Nicholas Flore of the New York Police Department presumes that Tren de Aragua gang members were involved in these crimes.
Venezuela’s Information Minister: Voice of America and AP Twist President Maduro’s Words
Maria Corina Machado, the solution
At the end of his social media post, the Venezuelan minister pointed at another piece of information posted by CNN stating that far-right Venezuelan politician Maria Corina Machado “warned” that millions of Venezuelans could migrate if “Maduro does not allow free and fair elections.”
When referring to the causes of Venezuelan migration, Ñáñez pointed out that “we all know that criminal sanctions are the main cause of migration, and we know well the faces and surnames of those who requested them at the time and those who continue to defend them despite the damage they do to our people. That is why the vulgar blackmail that is being promoted is striking and is summarized as follows: ‘If you don’t vote for the [Venezuelan] right there will be more migration.’”
He continued by explaining that “Venezuelan migration is part of a double phenomenon: 1) It was induced by the economic war [and US blockade and sanctions]. 2) It is the only migrant population that returns to its home country. However, neither the US nor the Venezuelan extreme right have done anything to ease the sanctions and allow the conditions for mass repatriation. The propaganda use of Venezuelan migration has a very clear objective: to justify any aggression against our country.”
(Últimas Noticias) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
