Newsmax somehow scored a Feb. 9 interview with a Venezuelan official — and we can presume it was not a big fan of what he had to say, even though it devoted three articles to the interview, all by Michael Katz. First up was this one:
Jorge Rodriguez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, demanded in an exclusive interview with Newsmax that the Trump administration “immediately” return former dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were captured by U.S. forces to face federal drug charges in New York.
“What I do believe is that President Maduro and the first lady, Cilia Flores, who have been captured, you know, looking into international law, they should be freed immediately,” Rodriguez told “Rob Schmitt Tonight” through an interpreter on Saturday in Caracas.
Rodriguez, whose sister is acting president Delcy Rodriguez, was noncommittal when asked whether Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, leader of the opposition Vente party, would be freely allowed to return.
That was joined by an article that featured Rodriguez adhering closer to right-wing narratives:
Jorge Rodriguez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, told Newsmax his country has a respectful relationship with President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“We have had a very intense relationship with the United States historically, and there have been ups and downs, especially in the last 25 years,” Rodriguez said through an interpreter in an exclusive interview Saturday with “Rob Schmitt Tonight” from Caracas.
“But what we can say is that in the last 36 days, we have had a very good understanding and relationship working with the government of the United States.
Another article quoted Rodriguez sticking to the pro-Venezuela narrative:
The brother of Venezuela’s acting president told Newsmax that Delcy Rodriguez is stabilizing the country following the capture of dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
The two were brought to the United States to face federal drug charges.
Jorge Rodriguez told “Rob Schmitt Tonight” during an exclusive interview in Caracas on Saturday that the turmoil from Maduro’s capture by U.S. forces has not led to lingering effects on the nation as a whole, despite the traumatic nature of the operation.
It was not explained why these three articles could not be condensed into one.