The Venezuelan Justice delivered this February 7 to the number two of Chavismo, Diosdado Cabello, the headquarters of the newspaper The Nationalwhose embargo had been notified in May 2021 as part of the compensation for “moral damage” of more than 13 million dollars ordered by the Supreme Court of Justice after a lawsuit by the politician.
Judge Lisbeth del Carmen Amoroso Hidrobo awarded Diosdado Cabello ownership of the newspaper’s headquarters Venezuelan The National, which has remained critical of the government of Nicolás Maduro. This decision comes after the embargo of the medium in May 2021, after having been sued for “moral damages” by Cabello.
Ownership of the headquarters and the plots of land on which the newspaper’s office building is built were handed over to Cabello, second-in-command of the governing party United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). The newspaper’s workers were evicted by the Army when the embargo was ruled.
irregular practices
On the website of The National point out various irregular practices in this decision. On the one hand, Judge Amoroso Hidrobo is the sister of the Comptroller General of the Nation, Elvis Amoroso Hidrobo. In addition, the award was made without publicly informing the date, time and amount to be paid to those interested in their purchase.
This occurs after the lawsuit filed by Diosdado Cabello himself against The National for defamation, in which the Superior Court of Justice (TSJ) declared that the newspaper had to pay as reparation an amount of 13 million dollars directly to the government leader. The Venezuelan justice has considered him a victim of moral damages for the distribution, by the media, of an investigation by the Spanish newspaper ABC, which linked him to drug trafficking structures.
Miguel Otero, president and publisher of the media group The Nationaldeclared for RFI in Spanish that “this It shows that there is no separation of powers in the justice system.” pointing out the relationship between the judge and the comptroller general. In addition, she explains that although the defamation lawsuit against the newspaper exists, no sentence has ever been issued.
“We do not censor ourselves”
The Chavista leader, Cabello promises that he will use the land to turn it into a university or build popular housing where the main offices of the medium, founded more than eight decades ago, are located.
Given this, Otero specified that will continue working to publish uncensored information on their web portal: “We do not censor ourselves, and we are the most consulted digital media outlet on Venezuelan issues in the country,” he said, adding that this case of “judicial intimidation” will not prevent them from continuing to publish, being critical of the government.