UPDATE: Jorge Ramos and Univision Team Freed After Being Detained in Venezuela for Questioning Maduro
A group of Univision journalists was reportedly detained in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela on Monday after asking Nicholas Maduro questions that he did not like and showing him a video (above) showing people eating from the trash.
They have since been released, according to Wall Street Journal‘s Ben Mullin, who spoke to Univision’s Jose Zamora.
ABC’s Joshua Hoyos tweeted out that according to Ramos who spoke to Univision on the phone, the incident was prompted by “a video of young people eating food from a garbage truck.”
He added: “Ramos says the team was separated and interrogated, the tape of the interview and personal belongings were taken away.”
Buzzfeed added in their own report of the detainment that during the phone call with Univision that Ramos said that Maduro’s people robbed the team of their work.
“They robbed us of our work, they robbed us of our equipment,” Ramos told Univision after his release. “They don’t want the world to see what happens when their leader is questioned.”
Univision News’ Daniel Coronell first reported the news, noting the group was led by anchor Jorge Ramos.
Univision also tweeted out that the group was detained at the Miraflores Palace and that their technical equipment had been confiscated.
Univision further added in a report on that Maduro did not like the questions, ordered the recording stopped and then detained the journalistic team.
The members of the team were listed by Univision as including María Martínez, Claudia Rondón, Francisco Urreiztieta, Juan Carlos Guzmán, Martín Guzmán and Jorge Ramos.
The Director of Human Rights Watch’s Americas division called the detainment “arbitrary” and called for their immediate release.
Sen. Marco Rubio also weighed in.
Rubio added that according to reports, Ramos was “able to call his office and was in the middle of explaining that Maduro had detained him when the phone was taken from him and the call ended.”
He later tweeted this:
The State Department also confirmed Ramos and his team were held “against their will” in the palace.
[image via screengrab]
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