As a regular fan of Con El Mazo Dando, I always suspected that the Patriotas Cooperantes, the mysterious network of government informants that infiltrate opposition ranks and compile dirt for Diosdado to use as defamatory fodder, didn’t actually exist. I was more inclined to dismiss them as fictional characters concocted in a VTV basement somewhere,…
Remember Caraemuerto? Luidig Ochoa (a.k.a. Caraemuerto) was the alleged criminal in recovery who survived fifteen shots (three in the face), created a successful web series, and the love interest of T&A slapstick comedienne Jimena Araya (a.k.a. Rosita). They dated until the day of his death, when he was shot three more times and ran out of lives to survive them.…
A mother was walking the streets of Coro with her son and daughter a few days ago. The mother, Sara, watched in horror, as her son, César, fell down an uncovered manhole, into the sewer below. In terror, she lunged into the sewer to fetch her son. Screams of panic followed, and then, silence. A…
Diosdado Cabello is suing El Nacional, Tal Cual, and LaPatilla.com for writing pieces claiming he is a drug smuggler. Of course, these news sites were not claiming such things, but simply repeating what is being said abroad about Cabello. The real reason behind Cabello’s lawsuit has a first and a last name, as well as…
Dilma Rousseff, the current President of Brazil, is leading a crumbling government, what with her poll ratings in the tweens. It’s always fun to see a chavista ally eating crow, particularly one as important for Venezuela as Rousseff. But you know what I enjoy the most about this debacle? Brazil, with its lively democracy, its relatively…
Roy Chaderton, Venezuela’s Ambassador to the OAS, has always been a curious little beast. A product of Venezuela’s ancien regime, he is one of the few highly-educated diplomats that remained in good standing with Chávez after the Revolution came to power. After the tides turned, many people in top positions turned in their resignations in disgust – Ambassador…
Anyone remember the case of “businessman”/druglord Walid Makled? This week, he was finally sentenced to 14 years and 6 months in prison for drug trafficking and money laundering, but he was also absolved of other charges. The General Prosecutor Luisa Ortega Diaz isn’t happy with the decision, and announced that the Public Ministry will appeal it…
How close was Leamsy Salazar to President Chávez? Well, why don’t we let the eternal commander himself answer that question, in this Aló, Presidente clip from just after the 2002 coup attempt: “Salazar, which one are you in this picture?” asks Hugo Chávez, holding up a photo of a group of soldiers waving a flagon top…
On Monday afternoon, rumors started building on a story that would headline the Spanish newspaper, ABC, on Tuesday: “Security Chief of Chavista number 2 flees to the US and acuses him of drug smuggling.” By Chavista number 2 —you may not agree— the reporter, ABC’s Washington correspondent Emili J. Blasco, meant the President of the National Assembly,…
National Hoodlum’s Vacation On January 3rd the government was expected to announce the new economic measures for 2015. During that day we received a bunch of messages regarding the manner in which the government would inform the public. First, Maduro was going to drop the bomb all by himself. Later, we were told there were going to…
(Disclaimer: A few weeks ago, AD leader Henry Ramos Allup wrote a stinging op-ed claiming that some overseas bloggers were supposedly part of a “disgusting dirty war laboratory” looking to defame certain sectors of the opposition. The whole thing is demeaning – full of baseless allegations, innuendo, and even homophobic slurs. Without naming them, we all knew…
Five weeks ago, our pal Setty published a terrific article for the Columbia Journalism Review on scams and the media. Using Arevenca, the scam Venezuelan company whose president, Francisco Javier González, has allegedly been involved in several shady deals, Setty goes on to explore the role of the media in (sometimes) publicizing scams. The money quote: “The website looked fine—dozens…
The ongoing scandal involving Elías Jaua’s nanny poses a challenge to us bloggers. After so many scandalous non-scandals, is there anything left to say? It turns out there is plenty. For those of you not up to speed on the developments: Elías Jaua (former VP, Foreign Minister, former candidate for Governor of Miranda, current Minister for…
Ten years ago, Hugo Chávez had a problem: the Central Bank of Venezuela was independent. This was a personal affront to Chávez, who considered independence from him to be akin to a slap in the face. So, Chávez being Chávez, a furious assault on the Central Bank’s autonomy began by demanding they hand over $1 billion, a…
Over the years, we’ve been hard on traditional Venezuelan media outlets. Sometimes, we’re really hard on them. So it came as a refreshing surprise to read the latest reportage from El Nacional’s Siete Días, written by the paper’s investigative journalism unit. (Sorry, in Spanish) The folks in charge of the piece went through the painstaking…
Caracas Chronicles 