VENEZUELAN TV BROADCASTS OUTRAGEOUS MONTAGE OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000934 SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2024 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM VE SUBJECT: VENEZUELAN TV BROADCASTS OUTRAGEOUS MONTAGE OF SECRETARY'S INTERVIEW REF: CARACAS 858 CARACAS 00000934 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: ACTING POLITICAL COUNSELOR DARNALL STEUART, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) Summary: An altered "parody version" of Secretary of State Clinton's July 7 interview with the host of opposition oriented Globovision TV's "Hello Citizen" was broadcast on both the internet and Venezuelan Government television station VTV over the weekend. The doctored broadcast falsified the voice of the interviewer and reassembled assorted clips of the Secretary's comments with Globovision's Leopoldo Castillo. In the "new version" of the interview, Secretary Clinton is portrayed as advising the opposition to receive funding from narcotraffickers, commenting that the hunger strike of Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma was "not smart," reflecting on how to best overthrow Hugo Chavez, and opining about the benefits of using the electric chair on owners of the free press. In what can only be described as ham-handed agit-prop designed primarily to appeal to Chavez's base, the airing of such an outlandish and obviously falsified broadcast by the government's principal TV station only would have influenced Venezuelans who did not watch the original interview. The doctored interview, although broadcast "with a wink" and likely not to be taken seriously by a more educated or sophisticated audience, was pulled from VTV's web-site on July 20 after the station let the spot air through the weekend. End Summary. -------------- -------------- CLINTON INTERVIEW DOCTORED INTO DECEPTIVE PROPAGANDA -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) In one of the more outlandish stunts recently witnessed by Post, a doctored version of Secretary of State Clinton's interview with Globovision's Leopoldo Castillo appeared on state run VTV over the weekend. The edited clip, produced by Infofreniac Press-Escuacas News for the web-site www.globoterror.com was broadcast periodically by the Venezuelan Government television station VTV over the weekend of July 18-19. The clip, which has simultaneously been circulating on the internet on You Tube, does a fair job of falsifying the voice of the interviewer and reassembling the Secretary's response to the fictional questions. -------------- -------------- SEC STATE TELLS OPPOSITION TO GET MONEY FROM THUGS -------------- -------------- ¶3. (U) At the beginning of the one minute 35 second broadcast, the Secretary is allegedly asked "Where do you think democratic organizations and the opposition should seek future funding?" The Secretary then replies, "From Narcotraffickers, organized crime, gangs, and militias." In a second question Clinton is asked, "What do you think of the hunger strike by our leader Antonio Ledezma?" In the broadcast the Secretary allegedly replies, "That is not smart. We would like very much for these leaders to be more effective and help the poor." -------------- -------------- HOW TO OVERTHROW CHAVEZ; WHY WE LIKE THE ELECTRIC CHAIR -------------- -------------- ¶4. (U) In a move clearly designed to deceive viewers who did not see the original interview on July 7, Clinton is then asked "What advice do you have to those who want to overthrow Chavez in a coup?" The Secretary replies, "I think there are many ways to do that, but it hasn't worked yet in the ways many people had hoped. I am one who believes that we should be very cautious how we proceed because there are always unintended consequences." The doctored interview concludes with the obviously fabricated question on the Secretary's opinion regarding giving the owners of the opposition media the electric chair. The Secretary concludes the interview by reacting, "We surely live with that (the electric chair) in our own country and it has worked well for us for a very long time. I hope it can be viewed as a good ideas for others." The interview concluded with the host thanking "your highness" for the discussion. ¶5. (C) Comment: In what can only be described as poorly produced agit-prop designed to appeal to Chavez's "true believers," the airing of such an outlandish and obviously falsified broadcast by the government's principal TV station was clearly designed to influence Venezuelans who did not CARACAS 00000934 002.2 OF 002 watch the original interview and most likely already hold a biased opinion of the US government. In a country where truth is stranger than fiction, the deceptive audacity of the most recent broadcasts on the internet and state controlled VTV marks a bizarre new departure. Having aired throughout the weekend, the "with a wink" broadcast was pulled from the VTV website on July 20. End Comment. CAULFIELD