The Attorney General of Venezuela, Tarek William Saabaccused journalists this Tuesday of being part of an “extortion structure” financed by the former Minister of Petroleum Tareck El Aissami, arrested for corruption. Allegations that have already been rejected by the press union.
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El Aissami – arrested on April 9 for embezzlement of funds in the state oil company PDVSA “He had an extortionate media structure at his service” to “attack the State authorities,” Saab said.
These complaints earned the investigative journalists exile, who continued to publish even under threats.
According to the official, El Aissami paid Edwald Scharfenberg and Roberto Deniz, journalists and editors of the medium, between $30,000 to $100,000 to “soften” or “remove” posts. But in addition, he linked them to the PDVSA cryptocurrency corruption plot.
“The accusations fabricated by Tarek William Saab from the Public Ministry, a body that he has placed at the service of the Executive Branch, only ratify the importance of Alex Saab in the corrupt environment of Nicolás Maduro; and they constitute evidence of a new and desperate attempt on his part to prevent the circulation of relevant information about the merchant of Colombian origin,” the portal stated in a statement.
These accusations occur just a few days after the premiere of a documentary on public television in the United States, which will show how Armando.Info’s investigation was in the corruption cases, the most important of which is the plot of the Colombian Álex Saab.
According to the NGO Espacio Público, the persecution of press freedom continues to be aggressive in the country. In 2023, 204 cases of violations of freedom of expression were registered.
In 2023, Espacio Público reported 121 cases of intimidation, 99 of censorship, 48 of verbal harassment, 38 threats, 31 administrative restrictions, 30 police harassment, 16 assaults and one attack.
ANA MARÍA RODRÍGUEZ BRAZÓN – EL TIEMPO CORRESPONDENT – CARACAS
With information from EFE
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