Bodyguards for Venezuela’s Socialist Dictator Nicolás Maduro Beat Journalists in Brazil

Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro’s bodyguards and members of Brazil’s Institutional Security Bureau (GSI) assaulted Brazilian journalists on Tuesday evening at the Itamaraty Palace in response to their attempts to ask Maduro questions.

The incident took place after a meeting of South American presidents hosted by Brazilian radical leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at Itamaraty Palace, which serves as the headquarters of Brazil’s Foreign Ministry.

The altercation occurred when journalists approached Maduro to ask him questions as the socialist dictator was leaving the palace, which prompted Maduro’s bodyguards and the event’s GSI security guards to push the journalists away, preventing them from questioning Maduro. The bodyguards reportedly formed a barrier between the socialist dictator and the journalists. 

Brazilian journalist Deliz Ortiz from the TV Globo television network was reportedly punched in the chest by Maduro’s bodyguards.

Brazilian news channel GloboNews reported that other journalists, in addition to Ortiz, were also assaulted during the incident — but it was not possible to record the exact moment of the aggression due to the nature of the turmoil.

Maduro and his crew were reportedly the last delegation to leave the Brazilian foreign ministry after the meeting of South American presidents concluded. The ministry issued a note Tuesday evening regretting the incident and announcing it would take steps to “ascertain responsibilities.”

Similarly, the Brazilian presidency’s press secretary issued a statement expressing solidarity with the assaulted journalists, claiming the office would take all possible measures to “ensure that this episode is never repeated.”

Neither Maduro nor any member of his socialist regime has publicly commented on the incident at press time.

The head of Brazil’s GSI, Marcos Antônio Amaro, announced on Wednesday morning that the Institutional Security Cabinet will open an investigation to “clarify the facts and verify excesses in the conduct of the agents in charge of security at the event.” GSI had previously stated that security agents “intervened in order to guarantee the safe exit of the authorities present” at the time of the incident.

Nicolás Maduro arrived in Brazil on Sunday for the first time in eight years to meet Lula da Silva, historically a strong ally of the Venezuelan socialist regime, as part of their efforts to restore bilateral ties after former President Jair Bolsonaro ended relations with the Maduro regime in response to Maduro’s illegitimacy as head of the country and his extensive list of human rights abuses.

In addition to holding a meeting with Lula and participating in the meeting of South American presidents, Maduro held meetings with some of the region’s leftist presidents on Tuesday, such as Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, Bolivia’s Luis Arce, and Argentina’s Alberto Fernández. 

As part of Lula’s efforts to aid Maduro in rehabilitating his tarnished international image, the Brazilian radical leftist president asserted on Monday that a “narrative” had been made up around Venezuela to portray the South American nation and its socialist regime as authoritarian and anti-democratic.

In reality, there is an extensive decades’ worth of evidence documenting Venezuela’s ongoing human rights crisis caused by socialism and evidence of the regime engaging in acts of torture, rape, and crimes against humanity.

The complete collapse of Venezuela, an inevitability under socialism, has led to the worst migrant crisis in the region’s history — which the Maduro regime has outright denied on several occasions.

Lula’s downplaying of the Venezuelan crisis has drawn criticism from many politicians across the region, including Chile’s far-left President Gabriel Boric, who stated on Tuesday that Venezuela’s situation is not a constructed narrative, rather it is “real, in flesh and bone.”

Related: Texas DPS Stops Large Venezuelan Migrant Border Crossing in South Texas

Texas Department of Public Safety

 

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.