At least 14 journalists and media employees, including 13 from international outlets, were detained in Caracas on Monday, according to the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP). Thirteen were later released, one of whom was deported, while one journalist remains in custody of intelligence services.
The detentions occurred three days after US troops captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a pre-dawn raid. Both face multiple criminal charges in a federal court in New York.
Five journalists were detained while covering the opening session of the National Assembly, where they were banned from recording or photographing. Others were taken by military intelligence officers to the National Guard command post, where their phones were confiscated and searched, including contacts, messages, and documents.
The SNTP called the actions a threat to privacy and source security, and a pattern of criminalising journalism. It named Daniel Álvarez of Televen among those released. On the Colombia border, Univision journalist Juan Carlos Vélez and his crew were briefly detained, and their cameras seized.
Reporters Without Borders said charges such as terrorism and conspiracy are routinely used to persecute journalists. The group noted that forced disappearances have become a tactic to crack down on free press in Venezuela.
