Venezuelan journalist Mariana Atencio criticized mainstream media coverage of the anti-Maduro protests, arguing that Venezuelan voices have been largely absent from reporting while the overwhelming majority of the country celebrates the removal of Nicolás Maduro.
Atencio said one of her primary concerns has been how protests have been portrayed without representation from Venezuelans themselves.
“One of the major criticisms that I have about the mainstream media coverage of the story is the lack of Venezuelan voices on shows, and every time they show anti Maduro protesters, there’s not a single Venezuelan in the crowds of protesters that they’re showing,” Atencio said.
She praised efforts to include Venezuelans directly in the conversation, adding, “So I commend you for that, my friend.”
She rejected the idea that the country is divided over Maduro’s removal, stating that opposition is limited to a narrow group tied to the former regime.
“And then in terms of are almost all Venezuelans elated that we got this tyrant out. I would say 99.9% the 1% is likely Maduro is inner circle,” Atencio said.
Atencio described Maduro as responsible for widespread suffering and mass displacement.
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“Because, quite frankly, this is a man that drove our country into the ground. This is a man that terrorized hundreds of 1000s of people and led to one of the biggest humanitarian crises and refugee crisis in the world,” she said.
She also addressed questions about why President Trump focused on Maduro rather than other global actors, pointing to Venezuela’s role in drugs, immigration, and geopolitical threats.
“Listen, the first main priorities of Trump when he took office. The main three, let’s say domestically, were drugs, immigration and of course, China, all of them go through Venezuela, if you think about it,” Atencio said.
According to Atencio, Venezuela served as a transit hub even if regime figures were not directly producing narcotics.
“Even though Maduro and Celia and their inner circle were not the people producing the cocaine, they were the conduit country. They are allowing all of this, all of these drugs, to leave through Venezuela,” she said.
She emphasized the country’s proximity to the United States and the scale of displacement as additional factors.
“None of these bad actors is a two and a half flight from Miami, and then none of these bad actors provoked a crisis of 8 million people literally leaving their home country, me and my family included,” Atencio said.
She added that the exodus has created broader regional consequences.
“Which ended up causing a massive migration problem, not only in the United States, but throughout our entire hemisphere.”
Atencio said these factors combined to make Maduro a priority target. “So in that regard, these are, this is kind of like the compounding of reasons as to why Maduro,” she said.
Looking ahead, Atencio said an upcoming trial could expose additional details about the regime’s actions.
“And then, of course, you have all of these charges, Chris, I’m just itching to see what will come out, because we Venezuelans have been covering this government for or this regime, rather, for the past 15 years,” she said.
She listed allegations that Venezuelans have long documented.
“We know that they have imported expired medicine. We know that they have given babies cement that was camouflaged as milk. We know that they are responsible for the most horrific human rights violations,” Atencio said.
Atencio concluded by warning that much more may still be revealed.
“But that’s just what we know. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and we’re going to see in this trial in the next year what exactly comes out from Maduro and Celia Flores,” she said.
WATCH:
This lady just murdered the media’s Maduro narrative.
Venezuelan journalist Mariana Atencio says 99% of Venezuelans are “ELATED” that Trump “got this tyrant out.”
The 1% who aren’t happy are Maduro’s inner circle.
Maduro’s regime was so brutal, Atencio says, that babies were… pic.twitter.com/cwBcpJHvFa
— Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) January 7, 2026
