“One month after Jan. 3, Venezuela’s information space shows no signs of recovery. What has unfolded since then is a sequence of events that confirms the persistence of an environment hostile to the practice of journalism, marked by direct controls, administrative sanctions, public warnings and the repeated use of state force as a mechanism to deter the flow of information.
“This scenario was reinforced by the declaration of a State of External Emergency through Decree No. 5,200, which established an extendable nationwide state of exception for 90 days. Provisions such as the possibility of prosecuting those who “promote or support” military actions, without defining these concepts, open the door to arbitrary interpretations that may extend to opinions, analysis or news coverage, reinforcing a climate of fear and self-censorship in a context already marked by institutional weakness and the absence of effective oversight.
“In the specific case of journalism, the releases did not alter the broader picture. Journalist Rory Branker remains in detention, and the same courts, the same criminal charges and the same logic of selective punishment that enabled arbitrary arrests remain in place. In this sense, the releases functioned as situational decisions rather than a structural correction of practices that criminalize news production.”
