Miguel Otero, exiled Venezuelan journalist: “The new communism implants its dictatorships by first taking the TC”

by time news

2023-05-27 07:45:43

Miguel Henrique Otero He is director of the Venezuelan newspaper The National, persecuted by the regime of Nicolás Maduro, before Hugo Chávez. It has now been two years since the May 14, 2021 Army stormed the newspaper’s facilities and seized absolute control for reporting independently on the government. From Madrid it continues to be published in its online version. Otero, in exile since 2015, attends Libertad Digital at his house, the new headquarters of the newspaper, to talk about the situation in his country, the parallels with Spain and Podemos.

What is the newspaper El Nacional de Venezuela?

El Nacional is the most important newspaper in Venezuela, it was founded in 1943 by my grandfather, who was followed by my father, and it has been the great newspaper of democracy. In Venezuela there were three large newspapers: The National, The universal y latest news. The last two were bought by the Chávez-Maduro government in an operation that was not very transparent. We are the only ones who resist, and we continue to resist. The National it has accompanied Venezuela during the 40 years of democracy, and continues to accompany it in resistance.

How was the process to end the free press in the country?

Chávez went through phases: he began with radio and television, approving the Ley Springe, very punitive and discretionary, by which they closed Radio Caracas Televisión, and created a mechanism of censorship and permanent closure of radio and television media. Later they went against the newspapers, taking away their access to the paper and then blocking the websites. Venezuela is a country off for freedom of expression. In parallel there is a line of repression through the administration, taxes, publicity, attacks against journalists… that’s why I’m in exile.

What happened to El Nacional?

They filed a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper when we covered a story in the ABC Spanish about Diosdado Cabello, investigated for drug trafficking by a New York State prosecutor, against whom a DEA arrest warrant is pending. But the Venezuelan Supreme Court ruled that we should pay him 13 million dollars to restore his honor. That day the Army took over the facilities and now we operate with persecuted journalists who work inside and outside the country; the technical team is in Miami, the servers in Texas, achieving great reader traffic in America and even Venezuela when we can overcome the blockade.

How did you manage to flee the country?

When they took over the facility I was in Israel and thanks to that they couldn’t stop me. When the Army took over the facilities, they evicted all the personnel, although we had already removed most of the files because we foresaw what was going to happen. The building is still taken even though it is empty and only grass grows on it. Before, the communists expropriated something but kept it running inefficiently, but they let it be destroyed.

Do you think you will ever be able to return to Venezuela?

As long as the arrest warrant against me is maintained, no. As soon as something happens and the measures are suspended, I will return to my country. Meanwhile, I continue to run the newspaper from here, from Madrid.

Who is Hugo Chávez for you, now deceased?

He was a very charismatic person in the popular classes, also a product of the deterioration of the political system that existed, which reached a popularity of 85%. But these populist messianic leaders feel that they embody the people and when someone criticizes them, they criticize the people. That justifies any outrage. As it was losing popularity, the repression grew. He was lucky that the price of oil rose a lot, when he arrived there were 3.3 million barrels per day, at a price of 8 dollars a barrel, which rose to 150 dollars, a mountain of money that he squandered. Now only 600,000 barrels are produced because they squandered the industry.

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Miguel Henrique, exiled Venezuelan journalist. | David Alonso.

And what about Nicolás Maduro?

Maduro is not as popular as Chávez was, he did not win an election, the Cubans put him there. He already enters with a very large deterioration of the regime, which causes the repression to grow even more until it becomes a dictatorship. The level of destruction of Maduro is inconceivable, the GDP fell by 85%, the country has destroyed a quarter of the population without war, 7 million have left. It is something never seen before in history without there being an armed conflict or a natural catastrophe. 75% of Venezuelans are in critical poverty levels, at Haitian levels.

How has this process of destruction been?

The postmodern model of communist dictatorship is always putting its hand first to the Constitutional Court to blow up the pillars of democracy. When Chávez proposes a Constituent Assembly, it is not to approve a communist Constitution, but to control the TC, as is the case in Spain. The dictatorship of the proletariat is now coming to power with elections and bursting the State through the TC.

Does Spain run the same risk?

Yes of course. I say that Venezuelans come from the future, although it is not that simple. Chávez was able to do it because he had a lot of popularity and money that he managed at his discretion.

Do you think that in Spain the opposition and the institutions have enough strength to prevent this situation from reaching?

In the next elections, the right wing will most likely win, but they have to be aware that this danger exists because, if the right wing does not reverse the reforms that have been made, tomorrow it could change again, as happened with Zapatero. What Sánchez does is follow in his wake. If he wins the right and does nothing, when he returns the left, in the end, they are left without a country.

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Miguel Henrique, exiled Venezuelan journalist. | GIVES

What influence did Podemos have in Venezuela?

There is a political influence paid for with public money, through the Podemos foundation, of which there is a record in public documents. But there are no traces of the money paid in cash, as with Delcy’s suitcases. Although the most important thing is the ideological influence, through the president of the Venezuelan Supreme Court, (Gladys María Gutiérrez) who sets up the structure to squander the pillars of democracy and who studied at the University of Zaragoza, where she prepared a thesis directed by those of Podemos.

Is there hope for Venezuela?

There have been several moments in which the opposition has been on the verge of reversing the process, and others will come. But there is a problem of focus, of organization. A country with the conditions that I have described, where anti-madurismo is now 90%, has to have a clear goal of getting out of the regime, which is shared.

How can a starving population, controlled by the government, cope with the dictatorship?

This is not a traditional dictatorship, with a pyramidal structure, this is a criminal corporation that has kidnapped the country. There are several powers that have established a criminal alliance. Power in Venezuela is marked by drug trafficking, with alliances with all the forces of evil: Cuba, Hezbollah, the FARC, the ELN. Despite this, so far this year there have been 5,000 popular demonstrations, which is outrageous.

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Miguel Otero, at his home in Madrid. | David Alonso

How can the remaining public powers rebel?

The Army has experienced some 8 rebellions, appeased by the government with 200 officers in jail. The Armed Forces are in permanent boiling. There is a political opposition, divided, but it is there, not like in Cuba that does not exist or lives outside. These elements can lead to bankruptcy because the base of the regime is unstable. The problem is that the Democrats believe that the way out should always be through transparent elections, but we are talking about criminals. Ortega, in Nicaragua, imprisoned all the opponents when he saw that he was going to lose or if they did not change the electoral result. The exit has to be with a different confrontation.

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