Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Maduro Stops Interview, 'Detains' Journalists


Univision anchor Jorge Ramos and five members of his team were detained and later released in Caracas, Venezuela by President Nicolas Maduro on Monday during an interview in which the embattled president "didn't like the questions" he was being asked, the network said.

According to Fox News, Ramos, 60, was interviewing Maduro when the president "became upset with the line of questioning and ordered the seizure of the video and Univision equipment, including TV and phones, as well as the detention of the journalists," Univision reported.

Along with Ramos, the network confirmed journalists María Martínez, Claudia Rondón, Francisco Urreiztieta, Juan Carlos Guzmán, Martín Guzmán were also detained for two hours.

Ramos said Maduro cut the interview short when the anchor showed him footage of children picking through garbage in the street.



"He didn't like the things we were asking, about the lack of democracy in Venezuela, the torture of political prisoners, about the humanitarian crisis that they are living," Ramos told the network upon his release.

Ramos' daughter, Paola Ramos, tweeted that the news anchor told her he was safe, and that 15 minutes into his interview, "Maduro stopped him & then forced him & his team into a dark room for 2.5 hours" before he was "released without any of his belongings."



Ramos, according to a tweet from Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was seemingly able to call Univision to explain what was happening "when the phone was taken from him & the call ended."

During a visit to the Colombia border city of Cucuta last week, Rubio warned Venezuelan soldiers that they would commit a "crime against humanity" if they blocked the entry of U.S. aid being channeled through rivals of Maduro.

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