Dissatisfied with a report, Nicolás Maduro calls the German channel DW “Nazi media”

2024-03-05 05:03:47

Nicolás Maduro is particularly angry against DW. The president of Venezuela on Monday called the German news channel “Nazi” after broadcasting a report on corruption in his country.

The channel’s signal is also no longer accessible on one of the country’s main cable operators. Neither the Venezuelan government nor German state media reported whether any action had been taken against DW. It was also not possible to determine when the signal was interrupted.

Recurring accusations against the media

Nicolás Maduro accused the channel of engaging in a media campaign against Venezuela, a type of accusation made by the head of state on numerous occasions. “They have a little campaign run by CNN en Español, CNN in general; by Associated Press, AP; by all these media, including a Nazi media from Germany, DW, Deutsche Welle (…) a campaign saying that all the crimes in the world are committed today by Venezuelans,” the president declared in his weekly program broadcast on state television. “Beware of this campaign, which aims to smear Venezuela and, ultimately, try to smear me,” he added.

DW aired a report on corruption, accusing “high-ranking” politicians in Venezuela of being involved in drug trafficking, illegal mining and extortion activities.

Press freedom repressed

The National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) and organizations defending freedom of expression have also denounced an “escalation” against the Venezuelan media during the two decades of Chavista government, noting the closure of more than 200 newspapers, radio stations and television channels. The broadcast of CNN en Español, the Spanish-speaking version of the American channel CNN, was interrupted in Venezuela in 2017 by order of the government. Nicolás Maduro had accused the media of being part of a “conspiracy”.