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NY Times, TVWeek

News Anchor Who Has Had Run-Ins With Trump Is Detained in Venezuela

Feb 26, 2019  •  Post A Comment

A well-known TV news anchor was detained Monday during what is described as a confrontational interview with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas. The New York Times reports that Jorge Ramos, a news anchor for Univision, was apparently detained for more than two hours before being released.

“Mr. Ramos, a Mexico-born American journalist, is known for his confrontational questions, particularly with leaders who have attacked the press,” The Times notes. “In 2015, he tangled with Donald J. Trump, then a presidential candidate, during a news conference in which Mr. Trump eventually had guards force him out of the room.”

Following his release, Ramos discussed the Venezuela encounter on Univision, saying of Maduro: “He didn’t like the things we were asking him about the lack of democracy in Venezuela, the torture and the political prisoners.”

“Mr. Ramos said he had been detained for ‘more than two hours’ before he was let go and allowed to return to his hotel,” The Times reports. “He said the government had confiscated his crew’s equipment, including their phones and memory cards.”

Ramos is quoted saying: “We don’t have anything. They have the interviews.”

The Times reports: “On Monday night, Kimberly Breier, the assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere at the State Department, said that Mr. Ramos had been detained and called on the government to release him immediately.”

Breier reportedly wrote on Twitter: “The world is watching.”

Jorge Rodríguez, communications minister for the Venezuela government, appeared to lay the blame for the incident on Ramos, saying: “We don’t lend ourselves to cheap shows.”

He added: “Hundreds of journalists have come through who received decent treatment that we always give to those who do journalistic work.”

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