USAID Funds Fueled Media Narratives Against Venezuela
Some USAID-funded Venezuelan journalists. X/ @JGuzmanpsuv
February 12, 2025 Hour: 8:13 am
U.S.-backed journalists were responsible for constructing ‘parallel realities’ to destabilize the Bolivarian Revolution.
WikiLeaks revealed that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has used the promotion of “democratic governance” as a subterfuge to support so-called “independent media” that aligns with Washington’s geopolitical interests. This strategy can be seen through the analysis of the document “Press Freedom Under Threat, 2023”.
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Among the beneficiaries of U.S. funding, WikiLeaks mentions Venezuelan journalists such as Luz Mely Reyes, director of the media outlet Efecto Cocuyo; Carla Angola and Carlos Mendez from the Miami-based television station EVTV; Miguel Angel Rodriguez and Cesar Batiz from the outlet El Pitazo; and Fabiola Colmenares from the U.S.-based Venezuelan online television channel VPI.
This group of communicators received funding to disseminate narratives against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, aligning media discourse with the interests of U.S. foreign policy.
USAID’s operations have made the U.S. the world’s largest public donor to media and journalists aligned with the interests of a government. According to 2023 data from a USAID fact sheet that is no longer publicly available, this U.S. agency trained 6,200 journalists, assisted 707 private media outlets, and funded 279 civil society organizations related to so-called “independent communication.”
Under the guise of promoting “press freedom,” USAID has invested billions of dollars in organizations and media that propagate narratives favorable to the United States. In the 2025 foreign aid budget, US$268 million was allocated to promote “independent media and the free flow of information.”
WikiLeaks states that so-called “independent” media are presented as essential for “democracy” while serving a complex strategy of interference in the global media landscape. In the case of Ukraine, for example, 90% of media outlets depend on external grants, with USAID being the primary funder.
In Latin America, over the past decade, USAID has allocated no less than U$26 million to programs aimed at “strengthening media and freedom of expression” in countries such as Venezuela and Ecuador.
USAID’s foreign funding for anti-government media campaigns has been evident since the arrival of the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. In this South American country, media outlets such as Tal Cual, El Pitazo, and Efecto Cocuyo have been accused of receiving funding from USAID.
On Tuesday, the Venezuelan National Assembly once again rejected USAID funding for far-right forces seeking to destabilize the constitutional order and promote violence in the country.
Recently, during a television program, President Maduro denounced that USAID-funded media outlets such as Tal Cual and El Pitazo have created “parallel realities.” This was the case with the acts of media manipulation orchestrated by these U.S.-backed journalists regarding the national blackout and the post-election protests of 2024.
The information revealed by WikiLeaks also suggests that so-called “independent media” received a portion of the USAID funding intended for Juan Guaido, the fugitive from Venezuelan justice who self-proclaimed himself “interim president”.
teleSUR/ JF Source: WikiLeaks
