Maduro threatens legal action against Spanish media over “psychological war”

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro says he is considering legal action against the Spanish media, accusing them of “waging a psychological war” against his government. Speaking on Venezuelan state television on Tuesday, Maduro said he had contacted the country’s ambassador in Madrid, Mario Isea, to discuss judicial options.

“Venezuelans have the right for their truth to be known, and Spaniards also have a right to know the truth,” said the president on his television program Contacto con Maduro (Contact Maduro).

The opposition is garnering signatures in order to hold a recall referendum on Maduro’s mandate

“The war being waged in Spain is terrible… I am preparing a group of Spanish, European and Venezuelan jurists to take a series of judicial measures… to guarantee respect for Venezuela’s honor,” he said.

Venezuela’s worsening economic situation has been widely covered in the international media. President Maduro has declared a state of emergency following riots over shortages of essential goods and power cuts.

Spain has sent former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as part of an international delegation to help mediate between the government and the opposition, which is garnering signatures in order to hold a recall referendum on Maduro’s mandate.

Last week, Maduro accused the Spanish government of being part of a campaign to back an international invasion of Venezuela. “What is happening in Madrid against Venezuela is a war campaign, a campaign to prepare, which will never happen, but that is in the macabre minds of those planning an invasion, a military intervention,” he said on Friday.

English version by Nick Lyne.