Stephen Gibbs
@STHGibbs
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Latin America correspondent for @thetimes , based Venezuela. Formerly with the BBC in Mexico and Cuba.
Caracas, Distrito Capital
Joined February 2010
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Pinned Tweet
It was a real privilege to work on this short film about the White Hands choir in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. Established in 1995 it was - like many things in this country - ahead of its time. Here is an extract.
@GustavoDudamel
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Colombian President retweets an entirely invented Putin comment, in the midst of this dangerous global crisis.
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It can plant a tree every 2 seconds and was developed by a Venezuelan migrant, in Brazil.
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President Bolsonaro taken to hospital after bathroom fall.
URGENTE: Bolsonaro leva tombo no banheiro e vai para hospital em Brasília, informou ao GLOBO um auxiliar do presidente. Bolsonaro deu entrada no Hospital das Forças Armadas na noite desta segunda-feira.
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Venezuela in midst of its most prolonged and widespread powercut in living memory. Entire city of Caracas in darkness. Many hospitals and clinics without functioning generators. Grave concern as to what the effect of this will be on the most vulnerable.
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Here’s Venezuelan first division striker Leydi Urbina, four days after giving birth to the son she is holding. She was last season’s top goal scorer in the women’s league, playing 14 matches - not realising she was almost 6 months pregnant. 1/2
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Maduro calls the Brasil COVID-19 P1 variant the “Bolsonaro mutation”.
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Pompeo steps outside while Arreaza speaks at UN Sec Council. Elliott Abrams takes his seat.
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In Venezuela, your banking PIN number, or clave, is not a secret. My story in the Times.
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While intermittent powercuts are extremely common in Venezuela, an outage affecting much of the country at the same time is rare.
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Millions of cannonball jellyfish spotted off Venezuela’s Caribbean coast, and no one quite knows why. Part of my report here:
#Venezuela
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How to knock 6 zeros off a currency without quite admitting it. Clever graphic design on the new Venezuelan bank notes.
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The Spanish subtitles of Denman’s interrogation added details that were not on the English audio. In this section he said he’d done army diving, and fixed-wing aircraft training, nothing about “infiltrar embarcaciones”.
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Venezuela over the last 22 years has changed its name, its flag, but not its national anthem.
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Venezuelan state TV condemning what it says is one attempted coup, while commemorating another.
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$100 for the doctors, $5000 for themselves. Looks like an own goal by team Guaidó.
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Just went into a bank in Caracas and asked if they had any money. "No, mi amor" said the cashier, as if the question was a little stupid, and the answer completely obvious.
#Venezuela
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A rainbow coloured cycle-path in Caracas, designed to promote inclusivity, stirs controversy too.
#Venezuela
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"Nicolas Maduro will never again govern Venezuela" - Pompeo.
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Threatened with jail by the Maduro government, popular opposition mayor David Smolansky re-emerges in Brazil. He was in hiding for 35 days.
Estuve clandestino 35 días. Recorrí más de mil KM en Venezuela en ese tiempo hasta llegar a Brasil. Obrigado, canciller
@Aloysio_Nunes
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A Venezuelan “punto de referencia” often says so much more than an address ever could.
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Almost every Venezuelan university student needs a side-hustle to pay tuition fees these days. Here’s my story on one,
@MedinaCarluis
, a standup comic.
@cgtnamerica
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In the dark, Maduro asked his Electricity Minister Luis Motta Dominguez what was going on.
“Let me check,” he responded.
“You should already know,” Maduro replied.
#Venezuela
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My report on the environmental destruction being caused by illegal mining in
#Venezuela
. Taking gold from the summit of a mountain requires serious logistical infrastructure,
@cburelli
of
@SOSOrinoco
tells me. 🧵1/3.
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A $350m naval ship is written off after inadvisedly colliding with a polar class cruise liner. But as it’s Venezuela, no pasa nada.
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Maduro accuses BBC reporter Orla Guerin of lying when she challenges him about 1M % inflation, the situation in Venezuelan hospitals, the number of countries supporting Guaidó etc. “Are you a real journalist?”, he asks.
@OrlaGuerin
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Biden in Miami: “Maduro, who I’ve met, is a dictator, plain and simple,” said Biden. “And he’s caused incredible suffering among the Venezuelan people to maintain his grip on power.”
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A welcome sign for Russian tourists in Isla Margarita, Venezuela.
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Suggestion to Venezuelan banks. Stop asking for cedula number for every debit card transaction. Just require a PIN like everywhere else in the world.
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Venezuela in recent elections only allowed (select) international visitors to “accompany” its election process. Bolivia had election observers. There’s a big difference.
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That offer the US made to Maduro last year that if he leaves Venezuela he can spend his exile "on a nice beach somewhere", is clearly off. His exit options are now starkly limited.
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Once the books are finally opened, corruption at PDVSA will make Odebrecht “look like a downtown Caracas pickpocket”, argue the authors of this report.
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Tucker could come to Caracas, and make an almost identical, misleading, context-free video, in any of its well-stocked supermarkets.
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Not clear why Venezuela’s culture minister is tweeting in Arabic.
قذف قنابل حارقة امس بتاريخ ٢٣ فبراير من كولومبيا بصحبة الشاحنات التي تحمل بما يسمى بالمساعدات الانسانية نحو فنزويلا.
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By morning, might Petro regret this tweet, about an overwhelming vote, with a huge turnout, in a neighbouring country?
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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson talks of conditions whereby President Maduro leaves power either "of his own accord", or otherwise.
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If Trump decides not to meet Guaidó the “too busy” excuse won’t work.
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Elliot Abrams, 71, described as a “staunch anti-communist” is also sometimes labelled as the Bush administration official who “gave the nod” to the coup against Chavez in 2002. He’s now leading US Venezuela policy.
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Aside from everything else, a PR disaster for Chavismo, which once cleverly spread its message around the world.
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Is Venezuela beginning its “Special Period”? Does feel like it.
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Some call
#Petare
a community, others label it a slum. But for 370K people, it’s home. Here’s a video I put together. Editing by
@perezvalery
for
@cgtnamerica
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The number of active duty personnel in Venezuela's armed forces is 136-140K according to
@rociosanmiguel
. So 567 desertions is 0.4%. But that figure is growing exponentially, and it's at the border. So Maduro may struggle to send reinforcements without losing many more.
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Outside Venezuela, does this emoji 🔌 actually get much use? Semi- serious question.
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Venezuela’s
@ronsantateresa
announces it is to switch 60% of its distilling capacity to produce antiseptic alcohol which will be distributed to hospitals and pharmacists to help tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Just completed a mini-documentary which aimed to show how one of the steepest economic collapses the world has ever seen has forced millions of Venezuelans to abandon former dreams and adapt in ways they never imagined. Here’s a preview. Thread 1/6
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Richard Branson speaking to
@thetimes
today re Roger Waters. “He is a great musician, I used to like his music, but he knows nothing about what is going on in Venezuela”.
@richardbranson
@rogerwaters
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Venezuela has Interpol red notice on its wanted man posters showing pilot Oscar Perez. But Interpol website has 0 Venezuela wanted requests.
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All access to
@Wikipedia
appears blocked by Venezuela’s main internet provider CANTV after a page on site describes the head of the National Assembly as the republic’s interim/acting president.
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Venezuela was the first country in Latin America to have an environment ministry. Now, as
@TheEconomist
reports, it is destroying what it once protected, at an alarming rate.
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Venezuela minimum wage now $1.26 a week (official exchange rate).
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Upside down Venezuela: Maduro decrees two extra days off for carnival - Venezuelans ignore him and go to work anyway.
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Having worked in both Cuba and Venezuela, one difference I have appreciated in Venezuela has been the widespread legal access to (most) international TV channels. A small point in the greater scheme of things, but still sad to see even that being gradually closed down.
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How can the construction sector of a country shrink 94.7% (official figure) during the same period (2013-2018) a record 1.4M (official figure) houses are built by the government?
#Venezuela
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Venezuela has three of the six Boeing 737-200s still in passenger service, mostly from the 1970s. That’s a lure for a niche group of “jetheads” who come to fly in them. My story in
@thetimes
#avgeek
@gwleigh
@paul_winginit
@VenezolanaOfi
@flightradar24
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Since leaving Venezuela, Guaidó has visited Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay, and is now on his way to Argentina. He’s also been invited to Ecuador by President Moreno, and may do so on Saturday. There’s also a possible US visit rumoured.
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The flag at the US embassy in Caracas was taken down by staff there this morning.
#Venezuela
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The Maduro government’s effort to portray the mysterious Alex Saab as a champion of the people cannot have been helped by the fact that in almost the only photo of him available he is wearing a dinner jacket.
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Sell-out 20,000 seat concert by Venezuelan salsa legend Oscar D’León at the Poliedro arena in Caracas last night. Tickets were between $40 and $250 each.
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Tarek William Saab, sanctioned by the United States, becomes new Attorney General of Venezuela.
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Rogue officer from Venezuela's equivalent of the FBI flew over Caracas today, displaying banner calling for rebellion against Maduro govt.
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100 freezers, donated by the UK government to support cold chain vaccine distribution, arrive in Venezuela.
Hoy llegó a Venezuela el primero de dos vuelos con equipos de congelación que UNICEF aporta para fortalecer la cadena de frío del país, como parte de su compromiso en la preparación de la infraestructura para conservar las vacunas contra la
#COVID_19
.
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Do sanctions work? Sometimes they have unintended consequences, as the Venezuelan example shows. My report.
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A trip to Southern Bolivar state is a reminder of how once again parts of Venezuela seem a lost world.
#Kukenan
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Venezuela has not shared detailed economic data with the world bank for 7 years. As a consequence it is still classified as a wealthier nation, so its COVAX vaccines will cost over $100m, whereas they should be free.
@TheEconomist
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I asked her mother how she explained her daughter’s formidable energy. “We Venezuelans are warriors”, she said. “Especially the women”.
But they are underpaid warriors. Leydi earns around $150 a month playing for Deportivo La Guaira. Male players can earn $5000 a month. 2/2
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Which politician does Maria Corina Machado most admire? Margaret Thatcher, she tells
@TheEconomist
from
@TheEconomist
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All the major economies of South America, plus the United States and Canada are recognising Juan Guaidó as President of Venezuela. European Union expected to issue a statement in coming hours.
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Iron fist in a silk's glove. Behind the diplomatic pleasantries, the key point of Khan's visit was to advise the Venezuelan government that it now faces a formal investigation before the
@IntlCrimCourt
into allegations that it has committed crimes against humanity.`
Fiscal de la CPI, Karim Khan, al anunciar avance a nueva fase: "Esta Corte es la Corte de ustedes, y según la Constitución de Venezuela esta Corte forma parte de la Constitución"
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When Venezuelans find out I’m from London they often ask, sympathetically, “does it really rain the whole time?” After the last few weeks the same question could perhaps be asked of Caraqueños…
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President Trump expresses "concern about developments in Venezuela" during call with Peru's Kuczynski.
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“Caracas has become like something out of ‘The Great Gatsby'...decadence alongside penury.”
@TheEconomist
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From Our Correspondent: Venezuela's Lost World. by Stephen Gibbs on Authory
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Guaidó's tendency to mumble words and convolute thoughts does not help his case. Here is the US state department translation of his response to a question about his meetings in Davos, whether he would meet Trump, and if he feared being arrested on his return to Venezuela:
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One could interpret Lula’s message here as a call to Maduro to reconstruct the existing “narrative” about Venezuela by holding fully free elections. But overall the takeaway is that Lula believes Maduro is the victim of a false narrative, a view which is deeply divisive,…
Lula da Silva asegura que el autoritarismo en Venezuela es "una narrativa construida"
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Four years ago most of the foreign media in Venezuela was heavily criticised by the govt for suggesting that a young protester Juan Pernalete was killed by a tear gas canister. Today the attorney general said that was what happened.
Tarek William Saab: En el caso de Juan Pablo Pernalete, que falleció tras recibir un golpe con una bomba lacrimógena en el pecho, se logró la imputación de 12 funcionarios de la GNB por homicidio preterintencional en grado de complicidad correspectiva
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I spoke to two random people in Caracas after Maduro’s grandiose 3hr40 speech. One had no idea who Juan Guaidó was, and hadn’t heard about plans for a rival presidency. The other asked me politely if I had any money for food.
#Venezuela
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Venezuela’s navy battles a cruise ship, and loses.
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US prosecutors say corrupt Venezuelan officials have been splurging their money in Southern Florida for years. "This party is coming to an end", they say.
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Lula claims he was unaware of the existence of the International Criminal Court.
“Eu nem sabia da existência desse tribunal”, diz Lula sobre o Tribunal Penal Internacional.
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Cuba opted out of COVAX. Venezuela appears to be making impossible demands of the program. Both govts are wary of not appearing the sole provider of their nations’ public health care, even in a pandemic.
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Venezuela govt showing images of head of state food distribution programme Freddy Bernal cutting sugar cane today. Probably deliberate echoes of Fidel Castro doing the same in 1970.
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“The White House also warned that any harm to Guaido upon his return to Venezuela would be met forcefully, and said the administration would not be willing to engage in direct negotiations with Maduro.”
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One of things Venezuelans most relish when outside their own crime-ridden country is going for a nighttime stroll. That it seems includes Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, in Azerbaijan.
Concluyó con éxito la XVIII Cumbre del MNOAL y nos sentimos orgullosos de que nuestra Diplomacia Bolivariana de Paz, mantiene a Venezuela con un respaldo contundente de los pueblos del mundo. Estamos listos para retornar a la Patria, a trabajar para alcanzar nuevas victorias.
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Reports that the statue of Hugo Chávez in San Félix, Bolívar state has been burnt down as protests continue overnight in several Venezuelan cities.
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