MEXICO CITY, August 6 (Bernama-Sputnik) - Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro said he would stop using the WhatsApp messenger, in which threats to his supporters were spread, and would switch to Telegram and WeChat, reported Sputnik.
"How many of you have been threatened by criminals and in what way? Today, I will publicly break off relations with WhatsApp, because it is used to threaten Venezuela. I will delete it from my phone forever.
“Little by little, I will switch my contacts to Telegram and WeChat. This must be done. Say no to WhatsApp, down with WhatsApp in Venezuela! Because criminals threaten young people and popular leaders there. Cowards are hiding behind phones in Colombia, Miami, Peru, and Chile," the politician said at a meeting with young supporters near the presidential palace, which was broadcast by the VTV channel.
Earlier, at a meeting with military personnel, the politician accused social networks TikTok and Instagram (banned in Russia as extremist), as well as messenger WhatsApp, of spreading hatred in Venezuela, calling what is happening in the country a cyberfascist coup.
"Through WhatsApp, threats are made to the entire military community of Venezuela, to the entire officer corps, to the police community of Venezuela. Through WhatsApp, they threaten street and community leaders, to all who oppose fascism, they threaten you.
“The first step is a voluntary, consistent, radical deletion of WhatsApp. There are other channels. On Telegram, I have 500 contacts, about 20 groups, and I have already started. Follow me on Telegram," Maduro added.
The presidential elections in Venezuela were held on July 28, and the National Electoral Council declared Nicolas Maduro the winner. The next day, protests against the election results broke out in the country, with clashes between security forces and protesters in Caracas and other cities, who began throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at law enforcement officers.
More than 250 police outposts were destroyed, multiple acts of vandalism and robbery were recorded, and two servicemen were killed.
In the week following the elections, law enforcement officers detained more than 2,000 people, who are accused of destroying state infrastructure, inciting hatred, and terrorism. Violent unrest in Venezuela continued for one day after the elections, after which government control over the situation on the streets was restored.
In the following days, both supporters of the president and the opposition held numerous rallies, declaring their victory, but they were peaceful and did not involve clashes.
-- BERNAMA-SPUTNIK
TAGS: Venezuela, Maduro, WhatsApp messenger, threats, WhatsApp deletion
RAG
BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies.
Follow us on social media :
Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio
Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio
Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial
TikTok : @bernamaofficial
