How the Venezuelan government hinders journalistic coverage at ground zero of earthquakes

A source from the Ministry of Communication told the EFE agency that the suspension is made because the next few hours are vital for the rescue of the people who are still alive and that Rescuers need as much silence as possible.

SEE ALSO: “An arrest would be an international scandal”: the 4 scenarios for the return of María Corina Machado to Venezuela

But that is not the only measure that restricts the work of the press. EFE indicated that since Saturday the Government of the president Delcy Rodriguez started to implement a control system for the transportation of journalists and audiovisual reporters in buses with 90 positions daily to take them to disaster areas in La Guaira.

The SNTP reacted on its X social network account to indicate that preventing reporting on the ground does not resolve the emergency. “As the hours go by, the health situation may worsen and the country needs verified and timely information, especially the families of the victims,” the union remarked.

Access controlled by the State

Before the transfer of journalists is suspended, the Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Hair, had reported that Access to La Guaira, declared a disaster area, was strictly limited to accredited personnel. He said that journalists who want to enter the state must be accredited at the Caracas Polyhedronabout 58 km away.

The Univision journalist Paulina Sodiwho covers the emergency in Venezuelaexplained in a video that on Saturday, June 27 The Government summoned journalists from national and international media to provide their personal data and have them incorporated into an official registry.

“They asked us for our passport number, our work credentials, they asked us for our blood type, contact numbers, emails, and in the case of the international press they told us that they were going to send us a visa. They gave us these bracelets, which we have to wear until the day we leave the country and we were informed that from this moment on we will only be able to enter the disaster sites through those trucks that the government is going to provide. If it is not through those trucks we cannot enter.”he detailed.

Sodi added that The authorities established two daily schedules to board official vehicles, with limited spaces.

“They are going to take us to disaster zones. These are the conditions,” he pointed out.

Journalists denounce limitations for coverage

IPYS Venezuela denounced that the limitations on mobility, the hours to enter and remain in the disaster zone and transfers organized exclusively by the State make it difficult to carry out independent coverage and the direct verification of information on damage, rescues and the situation of the communities.

The Venezuelan cameraman Guillermo Suarezfrom the channel Al Jazeera, told IPYS Venezuela that the authorities informed foreign correspondents that they could only enter the affected areas as part of the transfers organized by the State. He explained that They were told that the international press could not travel on their own due to access restrictions established for the disaster area.

On June 28, the British journalist Catherine Ellis reported in X that the departure of the buses, scheduled for 8:00 in the morning, suffered delays of several hours. He indicated that when he asked the reason for the delay they told him that the group was waiting for the arrival of the Vice Minister of Communication, who would accompany the tour.

Ellis also expressed concern that the initial schedule called for a return around 12:00 noon, which significantly reduced the time available for reporting. He later noted that The authorities told them that they could move freely within La Guaira once they arrived at the place, as long as they returned to the bus at the time established for their return.

Harassment complaints

For its part, the SNTP is documenting cases of harassment of journalists by authorities during coverage of the disaster.

One of them involves the team of The Newsheaded by the journalist Daniel Alvarezwho was intimidated on June 29 while reporting from block 1 of Pinto Salinas, in Caracasone of the communities affected by the earthquakes.

“Neighbors assured that those responsible were people linked to the team of the head of Government of Caracas, Daniel Aponte, who photographed the channel vehicle, the license plate and the work team,” indicated the SNTP.

The journalist Diana Vasquezof Venevision Newswas harassed by the security personnel of the Perez Carreño Hospitalto where those injured by earthquakes are transported. She indicated that a security official tried to force her to go up to the director’s office, after two others asked her when she was going to leave the site.

Likewise, on June 27, security personnel at the JM de los Ríos Hospital prevented the journalist’s coverage. Reinaldo Mozo, from Cocuyo Effecton donations of supplies intended for the victims. While he was recording the arrival of humanitarian aid, a guard covered his phone with his hand and forced him to stop recording.

Restrictions reactivate a known pattern

The Venezuelan journalist Andrés Canizálezdoctor in Political Science and researcher at UCAB, considered that The limitations imposed on earthquake coverage mark a return to information control practices that Chavismo has historically applied in moments of high political or social tension.

As explained to The Commerceafter the fall of Nicolas Maduro There had been a period of greater openness for the media, characterized by a reduction in restrictions and greater freedom to publish content critical of the Government.

“We had a sort of informational spring. Restrictions on freedom of expression practically disappeared and private media that had been silenced or self-censored began to publish news that was previously unimaginable,” he stated.

This openness responded to a fragile balance that allowed certain freedoms as long as they did not represent a threat to power, he stressed.

However, The double earthquake changed that scenario.

“The earthquakes broke that fragile balance. Much of what was evident for many Venezuelans was an inefficient and untimely response from the Government.and that multiplied the discontent”said the journalist.

The return of information control

For Cañizález, The restrictions applied to national and foreign journalists during the emergency recall mechanisms previously used by Chavismo to control the circulation of information.

He recalled that the authorities initially forced foreign correspondents to register with the Government to obtain a credential and access La Guaira through official transportation, a system that was suspended on Monday.

“Journalists are summoned, they are required to go through an official checkpoint, get a license and use only the transportation provided by the State. Then this support is eliminated and the reporters have to arrive on their own to an area whose access is still restricted,” he explained.

These measures end up making journalistic work more difficult than facilitating it, he said.

“You make the journalistic task difficult. What you initially offered as support to the foreign press you eliminate under an argument of health security.”held.

The analyst considered that this type of action responds to a broader pattern.

“In exceptional situations, Chavismo tries to control what is said because its objective is to remain in power,” he stated.

When are restrictions legitimate?

Cañizález acknowledged that during an emergency specific limitations may be established for safety reasons, but maintained that these must be strictly linked to rescue efforts and not become general obstacles to journalistic coverage.

“It is completely sensible to establish a security cordon around a building where rescuers work. Another very different thing is to prevent journalists from going down to La Guaira.”he explained.

He specified that in a tragedy of great magnitude, access to information should prevail.

“A humanitarian crisis of this magnitude speaks to the need for as much information as possible to circulate, because there are many desperate people looking for news about their relatives inside and outside of Venezuela.”he stated.

He added that restricting the work of the press is based on a mistaken view of the role of the media during an emergency.

“It is thought that freedom of information will always be reversed against power and not that it can also be useful for citizens in a crisis like the one we are experiencing,” he concluded.