Angus Berwick
@AABerwick
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@WSJ reporter in London, formerly @Reuters . Not here much anymore - write to me: angus.berwick @wsj .com
London
Joined November 2014
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NEW: Binance commingled customer funds with company revenue in breach of U.S. financial rules that require customer money to be kept separate, we found. Ex-regulators said this put client assets at risk by obscuring their whereabouts
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Today
@Reuters
published my investigation into how Chinese telecoms giant ZTE is helping Venezuela build a system that monitors citizen behavior through a new ID card, known as the “fatherland card.” Here´s a thread on how the story developed 1/14
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NEW: Venezuelan First Lady Cilia Flores has a long record as the power behind Maduro. Now, with the help of her jailed ex-bodyguard, the U.S. is preparing to charge her with drug trafficking.
We spent months investigating her ploys and alleged crimes: 1/6
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Venezuela is a lawless place, full of desperate people. Today, driving Caracas-Puerto La Cruz, people blocked roads and chased down cars to rob drivers. While we reserved away from one barricade, a truck driver behind us started firing his pistol at the onrushing group:
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When Maduro told Venezuelans to make their own masks to protect against coronavirus, I'm not sure this was what he had in mind.. (photo by
@cjassopix
)
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View from my Caracas apartment during the blackout. You wouldn’t think two million people live in this city.
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A new UN report today says Cuban state agents “instructed” and “advised” Venezuela’s military counter-intelligence unit, the DGCIM, responsible for wide-scale human rights abuses.
Three years ago, I revealed the agreements behind this secret arrangement:
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Today we lost the Reuters Caracas bureau's driver Rafael Jiménez to Covid. I say he was the driver, but in reality Rafa was everything - he was security, he was a fixer, and he was the best companion one could have when reporting on Venezuela's chaos. I'm devastated he's gone
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Today
@Reuters
published my story on one aspect of how corruption has crippled Venezuela's development. We look at how a Chinese state firm allegedly bribed its way into a multi-billion dollar contract and left millions of intended recipients hungry: 1/10
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In his first interview, I spoke with Yazenky Lamas, who worked to protect Flores over a decade. In 2016 he was arrested in Colombia on a US warrant for drug charges.
He says he is speaking out because Flores betrayed him: “I was loyal to them. But they weren’t loyal to me.” 2/6
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EXCLUSIVA: Con la ayuda de uno de sus ex guardaespaldas, fiscales en los EEUU se preparan para acusar a la Primera Dama Cilia Flores de delitos que incluirían tráfico de drogas.
Por primera vez, el testigo Yazenky Lamas dio una entrevista en su carcel:
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My latest:
@skinosian
& I spent months investigating killings committed by Venezuela's FAES special police. We spoke to over 100 witnesses and cops & obtained troves of data and the first video evidence to show how Maduro uses the FAES to retain control:
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Internal UN report on Venezuela seen by
@michellenichols
:
- 94% of people live in poverty
- 25% need aid
- 1.9 mln expected to emigrate this year
- 1.2 mln kids not in school due to crisis
- "unprecedented challenges in accessing essential services"
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Caracas’ Francisco de Miranda avenue after Venezuelans flooded streets today to support Guaido.
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With the fatherland system, as opposition lawmaker Mariela Magallanes (who headed a commission to investigate it) told me, now “The government knows exactly who is most vulnerable to pressure.” 14/14
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People without the card find themselves excluded from services they need to survive the economic crisis. One 76-year-old diabetic told me a state doctor had recently refused to give him insulin and called him “right-wing” because he did not want to enroll. 4/14
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The database, per my reporting, stores: family information, employment and income, property owned, medical history, state benefits received, presence on social media, membership of a political party, participation in Socialist Party events, and whether a person voted. 6/14
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NEW: Before Venezuela’s economy imploded, well-connected dealmakers earned fortunes from the Chávez government and moved the money abroad to live lavishly.
One of them was Alejandro Betancourt. This is how he remade himself while his country went dark
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To chart Flores' influence, we interviewed 20 other associates and observers. They portray her as a stealthy strategist who now brandishes much of the power of Maduro’s office, helping him outmaneuver rivals amid rising pressure.
“Cilia likes or hates you,” an ex-aide said.
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NEW: After FTX collapsed, Binance said it would "lead by example" in embracing transparency.
Yet its core business remains mostly hidden from public view. The local units that CZ lauded for receiving regulatory nods just serve as window dressing, we found
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The fatherland system is modeled on China’s Social Credit System which grades citizens on their behavior. In 2008, Chavez sent officials to Shenzhen, where at ZTE’s HQ they learned how they could monitor citizens by using vast databases to store info gathered by smart cards 9/14
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If you want a deeper sense of why the military still backs Maduro, while it deserted Morales, here's my investigation from August on how Cuba remade Venezuela's feared DGCIM military intelligence service so it could quash internal dissent:
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Two days ago I flew out of Venezuela to the UK via Mexico and Miami. Coming from Caracas, where the lockdown has been severe, I’ve found the UK and US’ lax measures mind-boggling, given how bad the pandemic is in both.
A few observations:
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Critics say the fatherland card illustrates how China, through state-linked companies like ZTE, exports technological know-how that can help like-minded governments track, reward and punish citizens. 12/14
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I moved to Venezuela just before Maduro´s May re-election. That day, I was fascinated by the govt´s use of so-called red point stands to record who had turned out to vote. Socialist Party activists were scanning voters´ fatherland cards and promising them prizes for doing so 2/14
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One member of this Venezuelan delegation told me he was beaten and extorted after he raised concerns with other officials about how Chavez’s government planned to use such a system for citizen control. He then fled to the USA. 10/14
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New job news: I've moved home to Brexit Britain to be an investigative reporter for
@Reuters
focused on financial crime here & abroad. Covering Venezuela, and trying to shine light on its darker corners, has been unforgettable, and I'll still be keeping an eye on it from afar
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Maduro, addressing the killing of George Floyd, says "enough police violence!"
His own police force has killed thousands of Venezuelans and is accused of executing victims: 👉
En nombre del pueblo venezolano expreso nuestra solidaridad a la familia de George Floyd, a la comunidad afroamericana y al pueblo estadounidense que luchan por la igualdad y la justicia. Un grito recorre las ciudades de los EE.UU: ¡Basta de racismo! ¡Basta de violencia policial!
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My latest - How Cuba taught Venezuela to quash military dissent. We reveal the agreements that let the Cuban government remake Venezuela's security apparatus, including the feared DGCIM military counterintelligence unit: 1/9
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In response to my story,
@marcorubio
said: “The Maduro regime’s increasing reliance on ZTE in Venezuela is just the latest example of the threat that Chinese state-directed firms pose to U.S. national security interests.” 13/14
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I wanted to know where the data went and who had built the system. For several months I have spoken to dozens of people involved, mostly from ZTE, the Justice Ministry, and Venezuela’s state telecom firm Cantv, which manages its database. 5/14
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If the US goes ahead with her indictment, the charges are likely to stem from a drug deal for which her two nephews were convicted, sources say. Investigators have texts from the trio.
Lamas says Flores was aware of her nephews' actions. "Cilia knew everything," he said. 4/6
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Although the database only registers if a person voted, not how, local Socialist party organizers were told in May to spread the belief that peoples’ votes could be tracked. “We’ll find out if you voted for or against,” one organizer said she told them. 8/14
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Maduro for the past year had urged citizens to sign up for the card, calling it essential to “build the new Venezuela.” 18 mln have done so, per state figures. His govt is increasingly linking the card to subsidized food, health and other social programs. 3/14
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Here’s an example of how the govt is using it. After the May election, state institutions sent Cantv lists with employees’ names to determine whether they had voted. They then drew up reports with the names of officials who did not vote. 7/14
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This is the alley where on Jan 24 officers from Venezuela's FAES special police unit dragged 27-yr-old Yohendry Fernandez and shot him dead. Amid the FAES's deadly attacks on those that protest Maduro, here is my story on one raid: 1/9
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After 8 years of false starts, Maduro launched the fatherland card in December 2016. After hackers broke into an early version of the fatherland platform, designed by former Cuban state officials (working at company in photo), Maduro brought in ZTE to revamp it. 11/14
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Flores did not respond to queries about her indictment. Venezuela’s information minister said our questions were “nauseating, slanderous and offensive.”
I reported this story with
@mattspetalnick
in DC. And many thanks to my editor
@pauloprada
. 6/6
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Knowing what FAES officers are capable of doing, these Venezuelans blocking their path in protest are both brave and likely very desperate.
Locals protesting in San Juan de Colón yesterday set up a roadblock, when FAES tried to pass the locals didn’t move, even when they fired warning shots, the locals didn’t care
#Venezuela
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Reuters earlier published my and
@tomwilson1983
's investigation into crypto giant Binance's money laundering compliance. We reviewed internal docs and messages, and spoke with ex-staff and partners around the world.
Here are a few of our findings: 1/10
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These
@GrayzoneProject
chaps are either mathematically challenged, woefully ignorant, or purposefully deceitful. Which could it be.
Today hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets to protest the US embargo of their country, which is a suffocating economic war on the entire population.
Their message was
#NoMasTrump
/
#NoMoreTrump
! Unblock Venezuela!
Video report coming soon at
@GrayzoneProject
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Two photos from
@carlosrawlins
in his photo essay w/
@ShayCV_
on Venezuelans waiting for aid. One of Yaniedi Guzman looking at an old photo of herself. Another of Guzman now, after losing a third of her weight over past three years.
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NEW: Binance had secret access to a Silvergate bank account belonging to the crypto giant's purportedly independent U.S. partner. During a three-month period, Binance transferred $400 mln from the account to a trading firm managed by CZ, we found:
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Flores has tried to negotiate with the US for her nephews' release, sources say.
Last year, she told intermediaries to propose an exchange for six jailed oil executives, who the US considers political prisoners. The US rejected the offer as a "non-starter," an official said. 5/6
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The new UN report includes some shocking comments from former FAES officers to the Mission on the unit's lethal modus operandi and reputation for extrajudicial killings.
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Sometimes there's an event that sums up all a country's woes.
@cohenluc
and I investigated such a case in Venezuela: the murder at sea of an oil tanker captain
It shows the corruption, the decay, the desperation, the violence, and the families left broken
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In Venezuela, a pro-government armed militia group is called a "colectivo". And the US state department has condemned colectivos for being an arm of Maduro's state repression.
A militia group marches up 7th St. in downtown Louisville. They wouldn’t identify their group, but I know I’ve seen some here before.
#BreonnaTaylor
#Louisville
@WDRBNews
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The streets in Caracas’ nightlife district of Las Mercedes are jammed with traffic this evening, and bars are full. Strange to think there’s probably more activity here at the moment than in several European capitals!
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NEW: We investigated Binance founder CZ's strategy to evade regulators, particularly in the US, where the crypto giant is under DOJ investigation. We interviewed some 30 associates and reviewed thousands of unreported company messages, emails and documents
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Hay una versión en español aquí:
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My latest: Venezuelan law prohibits people with criminal convictions from working as police officers. Police's own guidelines say officers should have clean sheets.
But
@skinosian
& I found that convicts form part of an elite unit terrorizing the country:
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Bizarre Guaidó statement last night. After a damaging week, he makes no mention of the agreement with his signature exploring a military invasion, and the comments by his own advisor implicating him.
He maintains that Maduro's exit is "inevitable," but offers no new plan
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As an ex-cop, Rafa amazed me with his bravery and calm. But I'll remember him most for his compassion and generosity, and his chuckle. I was lucky to have known him, and I wish he could have looked after future Reuters reporters as he did for me. He leaves a wife and two kids
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A year ago today, a boat called the Ana María left the Venezuelan port of Güiria for Trinidad. It vanished en route. Among those lost were 6 members of one family trying to start a new life abroad.
No story has stuck with me more in Venezuela. And the family still has no answers
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After 400km driven:
- Twice people blocked the road to try to rob cars
- Twice locals halted traffic to protest lack of basics like cooking gas
- I saw three cars nearly have accidents after skidding on roads covered in oil
- and, of course, several dozen military checkpoints
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Retired Venezuelan general Cliver Alcala has surrendered to DEA, waived his extradition from Colombia and will collaborate with U.S. prosecutors - DEA sources tell
@reuters
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Great honour to be named this week as Reuters co-reporter of the year for 2019 (w/
@AminaIsmail
). Grateful to my incredible colleagues in Caracas and to all the brave Venezuelans who shared their stories with me.
Also met these two Reuters legends whose work continues to inspire
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Rafa kept me safe from the day I arrived in Venezuela to the day I left. He talked our way onto military bases, persuaded soldiers to release me from custody, evaded road ambushes, and navigated ganglands. He tirelessly enabled so many of my stories, without the public plaudits
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Little could entice me to go underwater on a 45-year-old Venezuelan navy submarine
Some *very* rare photos of Venezuelan navy Submarine S-31 Sábalo from Padrino and Ceballos who both visited the submarine to celebrate its 45th anniversary of the submarines launch
#Venezuela
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NEW: We reviewed FTX's code base which contains the secret change that allowed Bankman-Fried to move client money to Alameda.
"Be extra careful not to liquidate the PMM,” his chief engineer noted, referring to Alameda as FTX's "Primary Market Maker"
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These
@GettyImages
photos sum up Venezuela’s media environment. A media worker is held at gun point and beaten, while a government-aligned journalist takes photos of him and a policeman looks on.
Maduro supporters attack a media worker outside of National Congress in Caracas,
#Venezuela
. Session called by opposition lawmakers had to be moved to Anfiteatro El Hatillo. 📷:
@GettyImagesNews
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How do you silence a critic in Venezuela?
Increasingly the preferred tool is a vague "law against hate" which provides for sentences longer even than for murder.
@skinosian
& I show how Maduro weaponized the justice system to crush his remaining foes
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Have you seen this man? 6ft 3, dark moustache, runs an authoritarian government that has presided over the economic collapse of his nation.
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A plane from Mahan Air, a private Iranian airline accused by the West of transporting military equipment to Middle East war zones, has now arrived at Caracas' Maiquetia airport, per this photo by
@carlosrawlins
.
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In a tunnel bored into Caracas' mountainside, locals are using 1,300m of hoses to extract water from deep within. They are going to such lengths because even the most basic services are now inaccessible.
Remarkable photos by
@Manaurevzla
. Story by
@Coropo
&
@mayearmas
👇
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Venezuela’s elite FAES police unit, accused of executions and arbitrary arrests, is as ridiculous as it is terrifying.
E.g. this photo from their official Instagram of a group on a camping trip, clustered round a campfire in the shape of their skull insignia. 🤷♂️
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Three Venezuelans - a journalist, a lawmaker, a health worker - criticized the government’s readiness for coronavirus.
Now one is in hiding, one was arrested by intelligence agents, one is charged with inciting hate.
Our story on Maduro's new crackdown:
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NEW: The bungled Venezuela invasion attempt this week allowed Maduro to deflect attention from his govt's continuing abuses.
We investigated the massacre of 47 inmates in a jail riot last Friday. They were so hungry they had started eating stray animals
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NEW: We looked into Binance's behind-the-scenes efforts to build ties with Russian state agencies while growing its crypto business. As part of this, messages show Binance agreed last year to give client data to a FSB-linked agency tracing Navalny's funds:
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This is so accurate. Venezuela must be one of few countries right now where covid barely cracks the top story list. There's the bungled invasion, nightmarish gas shortages, new crackdowns, gang battles, prison massacres..
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And finally, Caracas has its obvious negatives, but I think it might be the most spectacular city I've lived in. I miss it now I'm back in dreary London!
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Venezuela appoints alleged drug trafficker Tareck El Aissami as oil minister. I'm open to suggestions for how he plans to attend OPEC meetings while the US dangles a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
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Hugo Carvajal, ex-head of Venezuela's military intelligence unit, is in the process of surrendering to U.S. authorities after Thursday's indictment, two people familiar with the matter told
@Reuters
.
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Venezuelan doctors often describe themselves as similar to combat medics. They make do in the toughest conditions with minimum resources.
I'm glad those that have emigrated are now bringing their experience to the pandemic battle (story by
@Simmoa
)
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Guyana also just confirmed its first coronavirus case in a woman who returned from the US last week, according to a statement from the president. So now all of Venezuela's neighbors have confirmed cases.
But Venezuela, of course, is still coronavirus-free, according to Maduro.
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I obtained the sealed case file with the Sebin intelligence agency’s investigation of Guaido’s top advisor, Roberto Marrero. Anomalies show the Sebin cobbled together the evidence only after the March 21 raid to arrest him, not before, as the Sebin claim:
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Venezuelan opposition politician Nicmer Evans, once a Chávez supporter, filmed his own arrest yesterday for “inciting hatred.” His last words were powerful:
“I was chavista, but not for this.. I was chavista so there could be more freedom. It was a trick”
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A week after the UN said the Maduro gov't committed crimes against humanity, we've published an investigation into one murder perpetrated by the state
It shows how Venezuelan officials are ever more complicit in the very crimes they are meant to prevent
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While millions of people go hungry in Venezuela, acute fuel shortages are forcing farmers to let crops rot in fields or feed them to livestock since they cannot transport food to market during the quarantine
Story by
@anggyp
, w/ pix by
@RamirezCarlosE0
👉
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When you read our investigation into killings committed by Venezuela’s FAES special police, remember that in October Maduro’s government secured a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council.
—
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Many Venezuelans can't afford to stay indoors as Caracas enters quarantine.
“If we don’t work, we don’t eat,” said Jose Luis Nieves (pictured), who recycles trash from the street. “Otherwise my kids are going to die of hunger.”
Story:
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On the
@AmericanAir
flights to Miami and London, most crew didn’t even wear masks. Landing in the US and UK there were no checks, no questions, nothing.
And while mask-use is obligatory in Caracas, it’s incredible to see everyone walking around London without one. Strange times
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Thanks for the shout out. We
@Reuters
are not using the term coup, except when referencing the Maduro government's accusations.
@mariannedh
With respect, my tweet is about protecting the people of Venezuela's right to communicate and organize, not the word "coup," which is the term being used by major media like
@reuters
, the
@guardian
, and others in their coverage of today's news. I don't write the style guide.
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NEW: For five years, a torrent of dirty money flowed through the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance.
From North Korean hackers to Russian drug traffickers, we found Binance served as a conduit for the laundering of at least $2.35 billion:
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A spin-off from our
@Reuters
investigation last week: A look at the collapse of Venezuelan state telecoms firm Cantv, leaving millions of people cut off. Before Chavez nationalized Cantv in 2007, it was the LatAm sector leader. Here are some details: 1/10
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Venezuelan local opposition leader Jose Rengel has spent 5 weeks in custody after 1 witness accused him of leading a riot that burned down an office. But the building still stands. My story on one case of how Venezuelan justice targets the opposition: 1/9
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There’s a lot of bad blood between these two groups.
The FAES have killed CICPC officers (e.g. Oscar Pérez). The CICPC have investigated FAES officers accused of executing victims (e.g. in our story published today).
But there’s no question which force Maduro prefers .. (FAES)
Clear footage shows the confrontation between FAES and CICPC in Caracas. Guns were pointed by both sides. This is Venezuela’s security forces fighting amongst themselves
#Venezuela
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Nothing illustrates the mercenary nature of international relations than the US exploring a rapprochment with the Maduro gov't -- accused by the UN of crimes against humanity inc systemic killings and torture -- to secure alternative oil supplies to Russia
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Binance's U.S. partner has confirmed that a trading firm managed by
@cz_binance
operated as a market maker on its platform.
We reported yesterday that Binance had secret access to the partner's bank account and moved over $400 mln to the trading firm
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Last year, we did a story on how "micro-theaters" at Caracas' Tamanaco mall gave Venezuelans a valuable safe space to criticize the government and publicly mock its dysfunction. Now, authorities have arrested the cast of a show satirizing police officers.
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Venezuela’s capacity for incredible TV moments appears endless..
Guaido and opposition lawmakers push past troops to enter congress.
#ANLeg
ítimaConVzla | El momento en que el presidente (E)
@jguaido
junto a la mayoría de los diputados de la
#AsambleaVE
retomaron el control del Palacio Federal Legislativo
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If you want to give money to help journalism in Venezuela, this is a much much better option.
@ArmandoInfo
produces some of the best local investigative reporting, not dubious personal narratives:
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Thank god my Caracas strategic tea reserve is so extensive and I'll never have to resort to whatever the hell this American woman is doing
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Here goes
@teleSURtv
claiming that in Venezuela police don't drive over protesters.. thankfully
@umarcelino
was there at the scene back in May to prove they very much do
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Overflowing bars. Bands playing music in the street. People walking around at night chatting and drinking beer. Normal in most cities, but a rare sight in Caracas. - At last night’s
@CiudLab
event in Bello Monte, which aimed to “illuminate the streets with our presence.”
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Venezuelan govt response to UN report: Says the UN ignored its “human rights achievements,” including subsidised provision of water, power, internet, cooking gas, public transport. (Never mind that access to all of these is, in reality, terrible)
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Venezuela's leaders have praised their efforts to control coronavirus' spread.
But that's not the reality health workers see. They describe a testing program dependent on a single, run-down Caracas lab, which has kept the case count artificially low. 1/5
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A year ago,
@tomwilson1983
& I set out to understand how Binance had risen to dominate the crypto industry while disclosing so little info. And.. there's still a lot of unknowns, hence our new story on its "black box" books.
But here's what we have found:
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Maduro wrote a letter to OPEC seeking help against U.S. sanctions. OPEC, however, declined to make any formal statement in response, a source said, adding OPEC was not concerned with politics.
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Exclusive: U.S. Senators ask Trump administration to investigate whether ZTE violated sanctions by helping Venezuela govt build a database to monitor its citizens’ behaviour, as detailed in my
@Reuters
investigation. 1/3
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Caracas’ streets are pretty quiet this morning on day 1 of coronavirus quarantine
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