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A28 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 6 May 2020

Activists hold slogans outside the headquarters of broadcast
network ABS-CBN corp. on Tuesday, May 5, 2020 in Quezon city,
Metro Manila, Philippines.
Associated Press
Philippines orders

leading TV network

to shut down Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab holds up twitter posts during a press
conference regarding what the government calls a failed attack over the weekend aimed at
overthrowing President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, May 4, 2020.
Associated Press
By JIM GOMEZ ees and millions of Filipinos
Associated Press who he said need the net- Venezuela: 2 U.S. 'mercenaries'
MANILA, Philippines (AP) work's services "specially
— A Philippine govern- now in the worst time of among those nabbed after raid
ment agency on Tuesday sickness and hunger."
ordered the country's lead- Media watchdogs ac- By SCOTT SMITH and JOSHUA GOODMAN with him in the U.S. military, Goudreau
ing broadcast network, cused Duterte and his gov- Associated Press said, adding that they were part of this
which the president has ernment of muzzling inde- CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezu- alleged mission in Venezuela called "Op-
targeted for its critical news pendent media like ABS- elan President Nicolás Maduro said au- eration Gideon." The aim was to capture
coverage, to halt opera- CBN that have reported thorities arrested two U.S. citizens among Maduro. Venezuela has been in a deep-
tions after its congressional critically on issues including a group of "mercenaries" on Monday, ening political and economic crisis under
franchise expired, spark- the president's anti-drug a day after a beach raid purportedly Maduro's rule. Crumbling public services
ing shock over the loss of a crackdown, which has left aimed at capturing the socialist leader such as running water, electricity and
major news provider during thousands of mostly poor that authorities say they foiled. medical care have driven nearly 5 million
the coronavirus pandemic. suspects dead. Govern- Maduro held up a pair of blue U.S. pass- to migrate. But Maduro still controls all
The National Telecom- ment officials denied the ports, reading off the names and birth levers of power despite a U.S.-led cam-
munications Commission closure was a press free- dates on them in a nationwide broad- paign to oust him. It recently indicted
ordered ABS-CBN Corp. dom issue, insisting that ev- cast on state television. He showed im- Maduro as a drug trafficker and offered
to stop operating after its eryone must comply with ages of the fishing boats the alleged at- a $15 million reward for his arrest.
25-year congressional fran- the law. tackers rode in on and equipment like Venezuela and the United States broke
chise ended Monday. The "The order to shut ABS-CBN walkie-talkies and night-vision glasses diplomatic ties last year amid height-
network's application for a effectively unplugs one of collected in what Maduro called an "in- ened tensions, so there is no U.S. embassy
renewal has been pending the Philippines most trusted, tense" couple of days. He blamed the in Caracas. Officials from the U.S. State
in Congress, which is con- independent sources of attacks on the Trump administration and Department did not respond Monday
trolled by President Rodrigo news. It is a crushing blow neighboring Colombia, both of which to a request by The Associated Press for
Duterte's allies, but hear- to press freedom, one that have denied involvement. comment.
ings have been delayed, was obviously ordered by "The United States government is fully "I've tried to engage everybody I know
in part by a coronavirus President Rodrigo Duterte and completely involved in this defeated at every level," Goudreau said of the at-
lockdown. ABS-CBN, one to silence critical reporting raid," Maduro said, praising members of tempt to help his detained colleagues.
of the country's oldest and on his government," said a fishing village for cornering one group "Nobody's returning my calls. It's a night-
most influential networks, Shawn Crispin, a Bangkok- in the sweep netting the "professional mare." Goudreau's account of the con-
continued to broadcast based representative for American mercenaries." fusing raid has at times seemed contra-
on TV and radio for most the Committee to Protect Before dawn on Sunday, officials say dictory — for example, he says he was
of Tuesday but later went Journalists. "If he can shut the first attack started on a beach near plotting a rebellion for months while
off the air. "Millions of Filipi- down a media outfit as in- Venezuela's port city of La Guaira, when claiming not to have received a single
nos will lose their source of fluential and powerful as security forces made the first two arrests penny. Meanwhile, a self-aggrandizing
news and entertainment ... ABS-CBN, then no indepen- and killed eight others attempting to Maduro has thrived broadcasting videos
when people need crucial dent media group is safe. make a landing by speedboats. on state TV of what he says was a flawless
and timely information as The message is clear." The two U.S. citizens arrested Monday defense of the nation's sovereignty.
the nation deals with the Opposition Sen. Risa Honti- were identified as as Luke Denman and Kay Denman, the mother of one of the
COVID-19 pandemic," the veros said it was alarming Airan Berry, both former U.S. special forc- Americans, said the last time she heard
media giant said in a state- that ABS-CBN was ordered es soldiers. from her son was a few weeks when he
ment. to stop its operations in the Florida-based ex-Green Beret Jordan texted her from an undisclosed location
Company President Car- middle of the pandemic. Goudreau said earlier Monday that he to ask how she was coping with the coro-
lo Katigbak appealed to "The delivery of timely and was working with the two men in a mission navirus pandemic. She said she never
people to let their feelings correct information is es- intending to detain Maduro and "liber- heard her son discuss Venezuela and
on the closure be "felt, ex- sential to our COVID-19 ate" Venezuela. Goudreau has claimed only learned of his possible capture there
pressed and heard" for the response. This shutdown responsibility for the operation. after his friends called when they saw the
benefit of the network's order goes against public The two served in Iraq and Afghanistan reports on social media.q
more than 11,000 employ- welfare," Hontiveros said.q