“It would have been easier to look away”: a journalist’s investigation into corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela

Off-camera, director Juan Ravell asks Venezuelan journalist Roberto Deniz: “Is this investigation worth it?

Deniz thinks about the question then responds: “Professionally, I always say it was worth it. »

“And personally?” » asks Ravell.

“This answer is more complicated,” Deniz says, adding: “…It would have been easier to look away.”

This conversation is part of FRONTLINE’s new documentary, A Dangerous Mission: Uncovering Corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela, produced in collaboration with the independent Venezuelan news site Armando.info. The 90-minute documentary, premiering on streaming platforms and PBS stations on May 14 (check local listings), tells the story of a corruption scandal that stretches from Venezuela to Europe. by the United States and what happened to the journalists who helped uncover the story. including Deniz.

As Deniz recalls in the excerpt above: “I didn’t know who I was investigating. I didn’t understand all the links I would find or the scale of the operation.

In the documentary, Deniz details how an Armando.info investigation into complaints about the poor quality of food distributed by a Venezuelan government program revealed a connection to Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman who was a close associate of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the greatest entrepreneur. for the food program.

The food program, known as the Local Supply and Production Committees (Comité Locales de Abastecimiento y Producción or CLAP), was implemented by President Maduro in 2016, when the Venezuelan economy was in freefall and that the country was devastated by hunger. As the documentary reveals, Deniz and his colleagues discovered how the CLAP program enriched Saab.

Following Armando.info’s reporting in early 2017, Saab sued Deniz for criminal defamation and denied the facts of their reporting. Faced with threats, harassment and possible prison time, Deniz and his editors made the difficult decision to leave Venezuela.

Nevertheless, Deniz has continued his reporting since his exile. As he began to unravel Saab’s business network, Deniz realized he was not the only one investigating the Colombian.

Around the world, other journalists and governments were also interested in Alex Saab.

The journalists’ work helped expose a broader corruption scandal that reached the highest levels of the Venezuelan government and spanned every continent, attracting the attention of law enforcement.

The continuation of this story has made Deniz and his colleagues targets of the Maduro government. In addition to being sued for criminal defamation by Saab, Deniz is the subject of an arrest warrant following his reporting, and his family’s home was searched.

As Deniz notes in the excerpt, “Alex Saab’s story shows us how a regime maintains power.”

A dangerous mission is a story about corruption in Venezuela and what happens when journalists investigate the powerful.

For the full story, watch A Dangerous Mission: Uncovering Corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela. The documentary will be available at pbs.org/frontline and in the PBS app beginning May 14, 2024, at 7/6c. It will premiere on PBS stations (check local listings) and FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel at 10/9c and will also be available on PBS Documentaries’ Prime Video channel. The documentary is an Assignment Film production for GBH/FRONTLINE in association with Armando.info. The director is Juan Ravell. The producer is Jeff Arak. The journalist is Roberto Deniz. The executive producer of Armando.info is Ewald Scharfenberg. FRONTLINE’s editor-in-chief and executive producer is Raney Aronson-Rath.