American journalist arrested in Venezuela
Detention of reporter in early-morning raid raises the prospect of US military action as tensions rise
WASHINGTON last night demanded the immediate release of an American journalist, who was reportedly arrested by Venezuelan military intelligence in an early-morning raid on his home in Caracas.
Agents of the Directorate General of Military Counterintelligence detained Cody Weddle, who has reported for The Daily Telegraph, and Carlos Camacho, his Venezuelan assistant, at 8am local time yesterday, a Venezuelan press union said. The whereabouts of both were last night unknown.
The arrest risks further escalating tensions between the government of Nicolás Maduro and the US, which along with more than 50 other countries has recognised Juan Guaidó, the National Assembly leader, as Venezuela’s legitimate president.
Yesterday, the US State Department said Weddle must be freed immediately, unharmed, adding that Mr Maduro “prefers to stifle the truth rather than face it”.
Weddle, a freelance journalist, has lived in Caracas since 2014. As well as contributing to The Telegraph, with his last article published on Feb 20, he has worked for the Miami Herald, ABC, CBC and South Florida TV station WPLG Local 10.
Neighbours who witnessed the raid said he was arrested on an order signed by a military tribunal, the National Press Workers Union reported. His computer and equipment were seized.
There were reports that Weddle had been accused of treason, though that could not be independently confirmed.
US senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida expressed outrage at the detention. Mr Scott said the US would “not stand for this intimidation”.
José Miguel Vivanco, the director of the Us-based Human Rights Watch, said it was very worrying, adding that Mr Maduro was doing “the only thing it knows how to do: repress and censor”.
Luis Almagro, secretary-general of the Organisation of American States, castigated the “oppressive usurper regime of Venezuela”, calling for an end to the intimidation and censorship of journalists in the country. Venezuelan security forces have detained 49 reporters, some of them briefly, so far this year, according to Espacio Publico, a press monitoring organisation. The group is investigating the circumstances of Weddle’s detention but had yet to receive any explanation from the authorities, it told The Telegraph.
Analysts warned that the arrest could draw a forceful response from the US, which has raised the prospect of military intervention and yesterday revoked 77 visas of individuals linked to the Maduro government. “Given the current state of relations between the US and Venezuela, having military intelligence arrest a US citizen… seems like unnecessary provocation,” said Phil Gunsion of the NGO Crisis Group.
Further inflaming the international crisis, Venezuela yesterday ordered Daniel Kriener, the German ambassador, to leave the country within 48 hours, accusing him of meddling in the country’s internal affairs.
The move sets up a three-way diplomatic standoff between the Maduro regime, Mr Guaidó and Berlin. Heiko Maas, the German minister for foreign affairs, said Europe’s support for Mr Guaidó was unbreakable and said the decision would “escalate the situation”.
Mr Guaidó described the order as a “threat” against Germany.
Mr Kriener was one of 13 ambassadors who went to Caracas’s airport to greet Mr Guaidó as he returned on Monday under threat of arrest, raising the prospect that further expulsions could follow.