Echo chambers for state propaganda: WOODTV8 only talked to Venezuelans that hate Maduro

It is deeply problematic when news agencies only present one side in a story, especially when the one side they present affirms state propaganda. Channel 8 did run a story about the protests, but in that story they did include multiple perspectives and ended the story with Michigan political statements that were anti-Maduro. However, the three politicians cited were Michigan Democratic Senators Peters and Slokin, followed by Rep. Moolenaar, but the story suggested that only Moolenaar was anti-Maduro, when in fact as I reported on Monday, Michigan Democrats are also taking an anti-Maduro position.

On Monday, WOOD TV8 ran a story where the news reader began the story by saying, “A group of Venezuelans in West Michigan has a message for people in the U.S.: Listen to Venezuelans.” However, unlike Saturday’s coverage, channel 8 only provides an anti-Maduro perspective in this most recent story and they posted a link to the letter that was written by a group called Venezuelans of West Michigan.

Channel 8 posted this letter without any verification or differing perspectives, something that never happens when groups that challenge state narratives. However, before I deconstruct the letter I wanted to say something about the two people cited in this channel 8 story.

The first person cited in the story was Belkis Lizarazo, a Venezuelan who runs a food business. Lizarazo has had a Facebook page since 2018, but has never said anything about Venezuelan politics. On her Linkedin page it says she is Community Leader with the Treetops Collective, yet she has never publicly said anything about the immigration status of Venezuelans in the US nor the possibility that the Trump Administration may deport up to 600,000 Venezuelan immigrants currently living in the US.

The other person cited in the channel 8 story was Jose Duran, who is referred to as “president of Movimiento de Ciudad.” Duran is the Executive Director of Movimiento America Latina, but is also Director of City Leaders Collective, which is a partner group of Movimiento America Latina. One of the partner groups of City Leaders Collective is Movement West Michigan. Looking at the websites of each of these groups they come off as charity-based/faith-based that doesn’t questions systems of power, and in the case of Movimiento de Ciudad they are clearly an entrepreneurial organization.

Deconstructing the letter from Venezuelans of West Michigan

The first thing to point out about the letter is that Venezuelans of West Michigan do not provide any support for their claims, meaning no souring.

The letter begins by saying that Venezuelans have endured problems over the past 27 years, specifically since 1999 when Hugo Chavez came to power. Interestingly enough, this was the exact same time that the US became anti-Venezuela, since Chavez identified himself as a Socialist who wanted to further the Bolivarian vision of the great Simon Bolivar. See Geo Maher’s book, We Created Chávez: A People’s History of the Venezuelan Revolution.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the effort to undermine Venezuelan sovereignty began 1999. Beside the US support of the attempted coup in 2002, the US has been supporting pro-US/pro-Capitalist candidates and organizations in Venezuela. The primary mechanism that the US government has used to subvert Venezuelan sovereignty has been the National Endowment for Democracy, also referred to as the NED. The NED has been at the forefront of the US campaign to get a pro-US/pro-Capitalist government in Venezuela over the past 25 years. None of this is mentioned in the letter from Venezuelans of West Michigan.

Like the group did with Chavez, they only demonize Nicolás Maduro, making claims of being a dictator, opposing free speech and saying he is not the elected President of Venezuela. It is instructive that these are the same claims being made by the Trump Administration. Regarding the election in Venezuela in 2024, that election is hotly contested, but the context of that election is much more complex than what the Venezuelans of West Michigan suggest. Here is an excellent article, which provides important context and analysis of the 2024 election.

The Venezuelans of West Michigan also reference economic hardships that those living in Venezuela, but completely ignore the fact that the US has imposed economic sanctions on Venezuela since 2005, with more severe sanctions being added over the past 20 years.

Lastly, the Venezuelans of West Michigan claim that Cuba, Russia and China have worked with the Maduro government, plus that government is also connected to “the ELN, FARC, Hezbollah, and networks linked to Hamas.” These are pretty serious claims, yet this group provides no concrete evidence to substantiate these claims.

In the end, Venezuelans of West Michigan is an entity, which has no online presence and essentially has created a narrative that mimics what the US government has been saying since 1999 about Venezuela, that the country is corrupt and repressive. For ongoing analysis from a grassroots Venezuelan perspective check out https://venezuelanalysis.com/.