He risked everything to uncover corruption in Venezuela. Will it topple Maduro?

Venezuelans are scheduled to head to the polls this summer to select a leader in the first competitive race in the Andean nation in over a decade.

The current government of Nicolás Maduro barred the opposition primary winner, María Corina Machado, from the ballot, prompting the United States to reinstate oil sanctions. But, in a surprise move, Mr. Maduro has so far allowed a new candidate, Edmundo González, to compete. He is quickly gaining popularity, leading Mr. Maduro by more than 40 points in polls.

Although few expect the race to be free or fair, exiled Venezuelan investigative reporter Roberto Deniz will be watching it closely – and with something akin to hope. He’s been reporting on the Maduro regime for the past eight years at one of Venezuela’s few remaining independent news outlets, Armando.info.

And in a new “Frontline” documentary that premiers on PBS this week called “A Dangerous Assignment,” he and his team are shown uncovering far-reaching corruption schemes that lined the pockets of Maduro government officials – and the close Maduro ally at the heart of it all.

The revelations, which led all the way to a U.S. money laundering trial and controversial prisoner swap, exemplify why trust in the Maduro regime has been eroded, and why a political change is in grasp.

Mr. Deniz recently spoke with the Monitor’s Whitney Eulich. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

How has the media environment changed in Venezuela between Presidents Hugo Chávez (1999-2013) and his successor Nicolás Maduro (2013-present)?

I joined Armando.info in 2016. It’s the only remaining Venezuelan media focused on investigative journalism.

I studied journalism when Chávez was in power. ... I always say we have to try to see the story of censorship during [the 25 years of the former president’s left-wing, populist political movement,] Chavismo, as a long, long line that started with Chávez and increased with Nicolás Maduro. It grew, of course, because Maduro is not a popular leader ... and the economic and social situation got much worse during his administration.

If you try to study censorship in Venezuela, 2014 was a crucial year. Many, many well-known, big media outlets were sold to “entrepreneurs” related to the Venezuelan government, the Maduro regime. It’s no coincidence Armando.info was founded that same year.

The implications are very clear. ... We don’t live in a democracy anymore. A population that has no easy possibility of getting independent information is a population that probably doesn’t really know what happens in the country.

I am a big defender of social media in a country like Venezuela, because it’s the only space that the government doesn’t at least control totally. They [can use it to] spread propaganda and misinformation. But people need [it] to make decisions. People need information to know what is really happening around them.

This investigation, which started by looking into fake powdered milk provided to desperately hungry Venezuelans, led you to half-built government housing projects, and eventually to a Maduro ally, Alex Saab, facing international money laundering charges. You and your colleagues have been slapped with lawsuits, and most recently with trumped-up charges by Venezuela’s public prosecutor. What does the scandal tell us about Venezuela right now – and looking back at your work, was it worth it?

For me as a journalist, I am very confident about what I did because I think it was the correct thing. It was my duty, my responsibility. ... If you ask me on the personal side, well I am not in Venezuela since 2018 because of this investigation. I had to flee [to Colombia]. I don’t know when I will go back to Venezuela, see my family.

I think the [“Frontline”] documentary is kind of a portrait of what the Venezuelan government and regime really is. This [corruption we investigated] was happening in the worst economic and social crisis we have ever experienced in 2016, 2017, and 2018. That is very important. It’s terrible to have a government sinking in corruption, paying millions and millions of dollars to [import intentionally subpar products]. The president was getting rich while Venezuelans were suffering.

[More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left the country due to hunger, violence, and poverty, according to the United Nations. Another 7 million still in Venezuela need humanitarian assistance.]

It’s a terrible message, and I think that’s the central reason why Maduro’s government doesn’t want this story to come out.

What is giving you hope for Venezuela right now?

I have to say I’ve been a skeptical person since I was born. ... But I think we are going to live a very important, crucial moment in the [July 28] presidential election.

That date could be the day that represents change for Venezuela, if we have the possibility of a free election. I am sure Nicolás Maduro is going to lose. If you see all the polls in Venezuela, 80% of the country say they want a change.

[That being said] I’m not sure the election will happen. Maduro knows he is going to lose; he can suspend the election. But there is a very powerful feeling right now that is against this government. And most of the top officers in government are wanted by the justice departments in the U.S., Europe, and other countries. In the end, they see power as their salvation, so it’s difficult to imagine that they’re ready to lose.

Does that mean justice for their alleged actions won’t be served in Venezuela?

It’s terrible as a journalist that has dedicated so many years to investigating corruption, human rights abuses, and other issues to accept saying it, but I’m sure that we are not going to have justice in Venezuela.

Even if there is political change, justice won’t happen. ... Maybe many years after Chavismo we can think of the idea of justice, but first we will have to focus on rebuilding institutions, rebuilding democracy, and other important things. Give people hope again, which is also very important. In this kind of process, justice is never the top priority.  

But maybe there is another way to answer this question. ... Maybe we are not going to have justice, but maybe our job as journalists is that more people, not just Venezuelans, will know what has really happened in Venezuela. For us, that’s the most important thing we leave with our work and through this documentary.