Venezuela halts cable distribution of DW – Director General Limbourg: 'Our distribution must be restored'

"We urgently call on the Venezuelan government to once again ensure the distribution of the Spanish language DW television channel as quickly as possible. This restriction of DW's broadcast is a serious encroachment on the freedom of the people in Venezuela to find independent information themselves," says Limbourg. 

The forced stop of the Spanish language DW channel by Venezuelan authorities follows the release of a video produced for Cómo te afecta, a new DW Format. The video focuses on corruption in various countries across Latin America, including Venezuela, as well as on the connections between politicians and organized crime. The primary sources the format refers to are Transparency International and Insight Crime. A post highlighting a clip from the format makes it clear that it is unknown to what degree Nicolás Maduro is connected to or is aware of this corruption.

Maduro then called DW a "Nazi media outlet" in this context. The Venezuelan Minister for Communication and Information went on to say that DW is spreading "hate against Venezuela" and is defaming the country. Director General Limbourg firmly rejects these accusations.

"Millions of people have fled Venezuela during Maduro's rule. There is basically no press freedom. It is fitting that he would react to fact-based criticism with such absurd comparisons. We are seeing defamation, censorship, internet blockages and disinformation about DW and its coverage spread across an increasing number of countries. We will continue to do everything we can to reach those living authoritarian states," continues Limbourg.

Spanish is the second-most used of all DW's languages (after English). The Spanish language DW offering registers 46 million weekly user contacts.

Spanish language programming by DW continues to be accessible via dw.com as well as on Social Media. The livestream is also available on DW Español YouTube.

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