After threatening to regulate TikTok and Instagram for "multiplying hate" among Venezuelans, President Nicolás Maduro has now decided to go after another social media platform: WhatsApp.
During a Chavismo youth rally on Monday, Maduro announced that he would "break ties" with WhatsApp, claiming the messaging App is used by "fascist groups" to threaten Venezuela as protests against the government's decision to claim victory in the elections without supporting data continue. Accompanied by cheers from the crowd, Maduro stated the following:
"I am going to break ties with WhatsApp because they are using it to threaten Venezuela. So, I am going to delete WhatsApp from my phone forever. Gradually, I will transfer my contacts to Telegram. Say no to WhatsApp. Get WhatsApp out of Venezuela, because criminals use it to threaten the youth and popular leaders."
👨🏻 Maduro pide a sus seguidores desinstalar Whatsapp.
— El Periodiquito (@Elperiodiquito) August 5, 2024
"Yo voy a romper relaciones con WhatsApp, porque WhatsApp la están utilizando para amenazar a Venezuela, entonces yo voy eliminar mi WhatsApp de mi teléfono para siempre", dijo hace minutos. pic.twitter.com/nruymXbj16
The Venezuelan president, whose victory in the July 28 elections has been heavily questioned and deemed fraudulent by several actors of the local and international community, claimed that WhatsApp is being used to threaten military families and officials:
"They are threatening the Venezuelan military family through WhatsApp. The officers. (...) They are threatening everyone who does not speak in favor of fascism through WhatsApp (...) First step: Voluntary, progressive, and radical withdrawal from WhatsApp."
He then alleged that threats are being coordinated through WhatsApp by individuals in Colombia, Miami, Peru, and Chile, who hide behind anonymity, before finally stating his intention to remove WhatsApp from his phone permanently, a promise he followed through in a meeting later on at the presidential palace:
#EsNoticia 🇻🇪 El dictador eliminó la aplicación WhatsApp de su teléfono celular y pidió a la población venezolana seguir su ejemplo de locura para que de esta forma "puedan estar en paz"
— EVTV (@EVTVMiami) August 6, 2024
📲Más en https://t.co/q16M2L9qR9 pic.twitter.com/GjdXtlkN5c
Maduro's position was echoed on Monday by Chavismo senior official and government strongman Diosdado Cabello during his weekly press conference. "If in 2002 the threats were newspapers and TV channels, today it's social media," said Cabello, referring to the coup suffered by Hugo Chávez in 2002 which Chavismo attributed in large part to the role of the media.
"We'll have to go back to the stone age but we will not use WhatsApp or TikTok," added Cabello. "Here in Venezuela they're not going to topple a government using TikTok, you can get that idea out of your head."
🇻🇪 | ÚLTIMA HORA: El número dos del chavismo, Diosdado Cabello, llama "drogadicto" a Elon Musk (@elonmusk).
— Alerta Mundial (@AlertaMundoNews) August 5, 2024
"Volveremos a la edad de piedra, si no tenemos que usar WhatsApp o TikTok, pues no lo usaremos, pero aquí no van a tumbar al gobierno usando redes sociales". pic.twitter.com/hJTUsUHG31
This stance against WhatsApp is not unique to the Maduro regime. Back in May, Daniel Ortega's regime, conveyed a directive forbidding Sandinista militants from joining unauthorized WhatsApp groups or signing unsanctioned communications. Porras emphasized the need for caution, stating that militants should only join WhatsApp groups with explicit authorization from the Sandinista Front's Secretariat.
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