VENEZUELA BLAMES UNIVISION FOR OUSTER OF DIPLOMAT

The Venezuelan government has accused U.S. Spanish-language broadcaster Univision of airing “groundless accusations” in a TV documentary that led to its consul general, Livia Acosta Noguera, in Miami being declared persona non grata by the U.S. and placing the consulate’s staff in harm’s way. The staff has been directed to return to Caracas. The ouster of the consul general, a statement by the Venezuelan embassy in Washington said, “is an unfair and immoral measure that demonstrates the submission of Washington’s agenda to extremist and violent political sectors in the state of Florida.” The Univision documentary, “The Iranian Threat” linked Miami consulate members with attempts by Iran and Cuba to hack into the websites of the White House, the FBI, the Pentagon, and U.S. nuclear plants. Responding to the statement by the embassy, Univision said that the documentary “speaks for itself” and that it plans to continue “doing investigative reporting on issues that may have an impact on our country, such as the Iranian ties with Latin America.”