Twitter Restricts Profiles of Venezuelan Officials

Venezuelan VIce President Delcy Rodriguez denounced the restriction of the executive vice-presidency's official profile on Twitter this week. According to Rodríguez, the aforementioned account was used for informing citizens about the measures and actions against COVID-19.

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"In the midst of the worst global pandemic, they are canceling an account where we are informing the population," Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said on Sunday via her official Twitter account. The blocked profile had 352,816 followers.

In the aforementioned information, Rodriguez attached an image with the notification of the profile's time restriction. 

The governor of the state of Aragua, Rodolfo Marcos Torres, also reported the blocking of his Twitter account and three mayors under his jurisdiction.  Torres added that the temporary restriction limits information to the population about COVID-19 and prevents notifications of immediate measures.  These actions limit the right of the Venezuelan people to receive the necessary information and hinder the duty of officials to provide it. 

These events occurred in the context of increased tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela after Washington announced harsher sanctions and its military alliance with Brazil against the Bolivarian nation. Pressure from Trump’s administration against President Nicolas Maduro intensified after it recognized self-proclaimed 'president' Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim leader in January 2019.

The Venezuelan government declared all 23 states in quarantine and asked the population to remain socially isolated. The number of positive diagnoses has risen to 36.