Coverage of the ongoing unrest in Venezuela, in the wake of dictator Nicolas Maduro’s claim to re-election via rampant fraud, was mixed at best, and left out a very significant detail: the various Biden policy failures that directly led to this moment in history.
Watch ABC’s very brief report in its entirety:
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
7/30/24
6:45 PM
DAVID MUIR: We are also tracking the images coming in from Venezuela tonight, where the government says Nicolas Maduro has been re-elected to a third six-year term, although full voting data has not been released. The U.S. tonight and other South American nations are expressing concern and have not recognized the results. Tonight, demonstrators continue to take to the streets. Maduro has presided over the collapse of Venezuela’s economy. More than 7 million people have fled that country.
After devoting 5 minutes of top story time to their ongoing worship of Kamala Harris, ABC could only muster 23 seconds for this significant developing story. But that’s 23 more than NBC could muster, because they had to make time for men’s gymnastics.
CBS, on the other hand, sent correspondent Lilia Luciano to Caracas, and offered up a fuller report in a more appropriate time slot closer to the top of the newscast- even if the story wasn’t all that substantive.
Missing from the reports: the fact that the Biden administration directly enabled this election fraud by foolishly giving Maduro sanctions relief in exchange for the promise of free and fair elections. Furthermore, Biden returned to Maduro his “narconephews” and notorious regime bagman Alex Saab in a pair of prisoner swaps. This context was clearly missing from these reports.
In contrast, although they, too, omitted these "root causes" from their related items, Univision and Telemundo offered full reports on the Venezuela at the top of their respective newscasts.
Exit clip: watch as Reihan Salam make noted Biden-Harris cheerleader Ana Navarro as he mentions the sanctions relief as a factor that enabled Maduro to steal the election.
WATCH as @reihan makes @ananavarro squirm uncomfortably over Biden-Harris Venezuela policy failure (sanctions relief in exchange for election guarantees that never happened) that enabled Maduro's tyrannical election fraud: pic.twitter.com/sfLdNUm5ty
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) July 30, 2024
Click “expand” to view the transcript of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective evening newscasts on Monday, July 29th, 2024:
CBS EVENING NEWS
CBS EVENING NEWS
7/29/24
6:33 PM
NORAH O’DONNELL: Breaking night: Chaos in Caracas, Venezuela. The political turmoil unleashed after Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in the South American country’s presidential election. There are widespread accusations of fraud with the U.S. and other countries casting doubt on the results. CBS's Lilia Luciano is the only U.S. Network correspondent inside Venezuela.
LILIA LUCIANO: Thousands of demonstrators are taking to the streets across Venezuela tonight to protest what they say is an attempt by Nicolás Maduro to steal the country’s election.
There’s a lot of teargas that’s been deployed by police. We are seeing a group of protesters. We can’t figure out how many, but perhaps there are a few hundred there. A few dozen. [Unint] There are some of them throwing back the canisters that are being thrown at them. The police are assembling in large numbers around here to contain that.
Venezuela strongman Nicolas Maduro has claimed victory for a third term. Despite exit polls showing challenger Edmundo Gonzalez ahead by more than 30 points. The international community has joined those calls for transparency, as they did in Maduro’s last disputed election win in 2018.
ANTONY BLINKEN: We have serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people.
LUCIANO: We are seeing a group of protesters on the front of the line throwing the canisters of tear gas back at police. There's a lot of police motorcycles here confronting them. You see a lot of tear gas. The group of protesters back there, some of them told us that they assembled peacefully. That's when police arrived, and that’s when all of this confrontation started taking place. Norah.
O’DONNELL: Wow, Lilia Luciano. Thank you for your reporting.
NOTICIERO UNIVISION
NOTICIERO UNIVISION
7/29/24
6:31:40 PM
ELIAN ZIDAN: Hello, how are you, good afternoon. Ilia, Venezuela today plunged into uncertainty after the National Electoral Council ratified Nicolás Maduro as the winner of the presidential elections in the elections that the opposition is denouncing as fraudulent.
ILIA CALDERON: That's right. Electoral officials, who are pro-government, say that Maduro took 51.2% of the votes compared to 44.2% for opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.
ZIDAN: But a large sector of the Venezuelan population is expressing its disappointment and sadness. HIt is also repudiating the official announcement with protests, shouts and fraud as well as banging pots and pans.
CALDERON: Francisco Urreiztieta reports from Caracas.
FRANCISCO URREIZTIETA: Open signs of civil resistance. The controversial results of last Sunday's elections are leading protests to the streets. Especially in impoverished neighborhoods, former bastions of Chavismo in Caracas.
PROTESTER: Today the president of Venezuela is Edmundo, not Maduro.
URREIZTIETA: Not even the heavy rains that fell in the Venezuelan capital this Monday deterred the protests. The demonstrations even blocked the highway that connects Caracas with its international airport, where 4 people were arrested by the police. Earlier, pots and pans rang throughout the city, protesting the election result. Meanwhile, Maduro continues to move to impose these results that gave him 6 more years in office. In the midst of the protests, the president went before the National Electoral Council to be proclaimed as re-elected president.
NICOLAS MADURO: An attempt is being made to impose a coup d'état in Venezuela. Again.
URREIZTIETA: And his attorney general put together a new case against María Corina Machado, whom he accused of participating in the alleged hacking of the transmission of electoral data during election day.
TAREK SAAB: And obviously Mrs. María Corina Machado is involved.
URREIZTIETA: But it is Machado who accuses Chavismo of hiding what really happened in the elections.
MACHADO: They do know what happened and what they intend to do.
URREIZTIETA: The perception of fraud in the presidential elections is gaining strength and has already established itself in the popular imagination, which could put Chavismo in check.
CALDERON: Francisco, what is happening at this time in Caracas? What's the latest?
URREIZTIETA: Well, Ilia, a kind of popular fury has been unleashed against the symbols of Chavismo and also Madurismo. A kind of fury that rejects the electoral results that have extended Nicolas Maduro's mandate for 6 more years. People are walking through Caracas on foot, spontaneously walking around without a clear objective. Many are not clear about what they want to do, but many want the president to recognize his electoral defeat. That's all for now, Ilia. Back to you
CALDERON: Thank you very much, Francisco, for your complete report.
NOTICIAS TELEMUNDO
NOTICIAS TELEMUNDO
7/29/24
6:31 PM
ARANTXA LOIZAGA: You are seeing live images of what is happening in Venezuela. Frustration, discontent, discontent is what reigns in the streets of this country after a disputed election that gave Nicolás Maduro victory for re-election. Demonstrations against Chavismo are taking place throughout the country and in Caracas, they are being repelled by the riot police, who are using gas to disperse people. And the results are being rejected by the opposition, by the Venezuelan diaspora, and by countries such as the United States, the European Union, and several Latin American nations. How are you, Arantxa Loaizaga greets you in the absence of my colleague Julio Vaqueiro. And as we showed you in Venezuela, people have taken to the streets to protest against President Maduro's victory. This occurred while the president himself offered a speech after the National Electoral Council, loyal to him, rushed to confirm his victory. Daniel Garrido is in Caracas with the latest information. Go ahead Daniel, we hear you. Good afternoon.
DANIEL GARRIDO: This crowd that we are seeing moving meaningfully towards the west of Caracas, a protest that happened suddenly was not expected, has not been incited by any politician. We already know that they have blocked some of the roads and hindered the military and police. The passage of these people who intend to reach the presidential palace of Miraflores.
The discontent of Venezuelans who saw a transition of power as possible with these elections poured into the streets and echoed from the balconies and windows of popular and middle-class sectors in Caracas.
PROTESTER: Once they left, we couldn't do anything anymore. I have my whole family out (of the country), my dad, my mom, my sister, my best friends, and it's my turn to go too, but I don't want to.
GARRIDO: Without publishing the vote tallies or completing its audit, the National Electoral Council, controlled by the government of Nicolás Maduro, proclaimed him the winner.
NICOLAS MADURO: I receive this constitutional credential.
GARRIDO: It is the most irregular electoral process in recent times, according to the non-governmental organization Electoral Transparency, which demanded that these results that deliver Maduro to a third term not be recognized.
MADURO: The sovereign Electoral Power of Venezuela, who has issued a ruling that I receive with humility.
GARRIDO: The count was delayed due to an alleged computer attack that, according to the attorney general, they are now investigating as an attempt to sabotage the elections and for which they hold three members of the opposition responsible…
TAREK SAAB: Mrs. María Corina Machado is involved.
GARRIDO: …including the leader of the movement that raised hope for historic change after 25 years of revolution. The opposition coalition claims that its witnesses at the voting centers were expelled without obtaining copies of the minutes and without being able to observe the closing of the tables.
MARIA CORINA MACHADO: And the end will be that truth and respect for popular sovereignty prevail.
GARRIDO: Some, however, trust that it was a fair process, that there was no fraud.
PRO REGIME CITIZEN: There was no fraud here. They believe that there was fraud, but this is the people who are here voting for the people
GARRIDO: 24 hours after the elections, tension and uncertainty prevail in Venezuela. What we see and hear is the atmosphere that exists in this march that aims to reach the presidential palace of Miraflores in the next few hours. This is the information we have in Caracas and with it we return to our studios in Miami.
LOIZAGA: Daniel, thank you very much for this report.
