Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro is using social media to crack down on government opponents and glorify security forces.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
There is growing evidence in Venezuela that the opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, handily won last week’s presidential election. But the authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro, is also claiming victory. And now, as John Otis reports, his regime has launched a violent crackdown on its opponents and is bragging about it on social media.
JOHN OTIS, BYLINE: Ever since the disputed July 28 balloting, security forces have been crushing protests and rounding up activists who claim that Maduro stole the election. At least 20 people have been killed and more than 1,200 jailed. It reminds human rights defenders of the 1970s, when brutal military dictatorships ruled much of South America.
ALFREDO ROMERO: This is a human rights crisis that we’re living in Venezuela.
OTIS: That’s Alfredo Romero, director of Foro Penal, which provides legal support for Venezuelan political prisoners. He says that rather than keeping illegal operations under wraps, the Maduro regime glorifies its repression on TikTok, X and other platforms.
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OTIS: On Tuesday, for example, security forces burst into the home of Maria Oropeza, an opposition organizer in western Venezuela. She recorded the raid on her cell phone.
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MARIA OROPEZA: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: “They’re breaking down the door,” Oropeza says, “I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m not a delinquent. I’m just an average citizen who wants something different for their country.” Shortly afterwards, snippets of Oropeza’s footage showed up in a regime-produced video.
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UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST #1: (Singing in Spanish).
OTIS: In it, triumphant troops lead the activist off to prison in handcuffs as spooky music plays in the background. The video was uploaded to Instagram as a warning that resistance to the Maduro regime is futile.
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UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST #2: (Singing in Spanish).
OTIS: This regime video shows troops pushing a handcuffed protester into the back of a helicopter to the soundtrack of the Christmas song, “Carol Of The Bells.” But the song’s lyrics now warn if you’ve done bad things, they will come for you. You better run. You better hide.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: Other videos like this one poke fun at political prisoners as they confess and apologize to Maduro.
ANDRES AZPURUA: Whenever they get an arrest, they publicize it with this very sadistic and macabre style.
OTIS: That’s Andres Azpurua of VE Sin Filtro, which monitors online harassment and abuses.
AZPURUA: It’s all part of the tactic of ridiculing but also instilling fear, and I think it’s been effective.
OTIS: Ironically, these same social media platforms promoting Maduro’s crackdown were crucial for the opposition’s wildly successful presidential campaign.
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UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST #3: (Singing in Spanish).
OTIS: Due to government censorship, the opposition spread campaign jingles, speeches and voting instructions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The strategy worked. Vote tally sheets obtained by the opposition show that its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, may have beaten Maduro by some 4 million votes. But Maduro remains in power, thanks to the backing of the armed forces, whose highly publicized raids have stymied the protest movement.
Initially, the Maduro regime paid little attention to social media because it dominated TV and radio, but it is fast catching up.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: Maduro’s latest move was to repurpose a government app called VenApp so that his supporters can rat out opposition activists. When doing so, users can select the option that says fascist protester.
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PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: In a speech, Maduro told the crowd now you can give me the data on all the delinquents who are threatening the people so that we can go after them.
For NPR News, I’m John Otis.
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