(CNN in Spanish)– Peter Limburg, director general of German public news channel Deutsche Welle, on Tuesday asked the Venezuelan government to allow the resumption of its TV signal in the country after President Nicolas Maduro announced the blockage and described it as a “Nazi radio station.” Described in.
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“We strongly call on the Venezuelan government to re-establish distribution of the DW TV channel in Spanish as soon as possible. The cancellation of DW distribution is a serious attack on people’s freedom to receive independent information in Venezuela, Limburg said in a statement shared with CNN and published on the German public broadcaster’s website.
“Millions of people have fled Venezuela during the Maduro regime. Freedom of the press practically does not exist. He responds to criticism backed by facts with absurd comparisons, which fit this profile. Defamation, censorship, internet blocking and the spread of misinformation about DW and its informative work are just some of the things we are facing in an increasing number of countries. “We will continue to do everything in our power to reach out to people living under authoritarian rule,” he said.
The main cable operators in Venezuela canceled the distribution of the signal of the German channel DW in Spanish this Monday after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said during the broadcast of his program “Con Maduro +” that the station is “participating in . A campaign to tarnish Venezuela, and finally, try to tarnish me. They will not return, they will not return.”
“(DW) has run a campaign saying that all the crimes that happen in the world today are committed by Venezuelans,” Maduro said.
The forced cancellation occurred after DW aired a video titled “How Does It Affect You”, which addressed corruption in various Latin American countries, including Venezuela, as well as possible ties between politicians and organized crime. The program has Amnesty International and InSight Crime as its primary sources. Social media text about a segment of the video clearly states that it is not known to what extent Maduro himself is informed or involved.
Venezuela’s National Union of Press Workers told CNN it would be at least the eighth media outlet to close. In February 2017, the Venezuelan government ordered the cancellation of CNN en Español and later took similar steps against others, including El Tiempo, RCN, NTN24, Caracol Noticias, Todo Noticias and TV Azteca.