Venezuela journalist who organized anti-Maduro protest faces money laundering charges
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A prominent journalist on the Venezuelan island of Margarita was charged Monday with money laundering and will remain behind bars after publicizing a protest against President Nicolas Maduro.
Videos of the Friday evening protest, in which residents of a working-class neighborhood banged pots and hurled insults in Maduro's face, became an instant social media hit encapsulating the frustration many Venezuelans feel with the direction of the socialist-run economy.
Braulio Jatar, who is also a lawyer, helped spread news of the demonstration on his Margarita-based website, Reporte Confidencial, which supports the opposition.
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His family said he was picked up by intelligence police early Saturday on his way to host his regular morning radio show. Police allege they found him with a suitcase full of cash.
The case has garnered attention beyond Venezuela's borders because Jatar holds a Chilean passport and his sister is editor of El Planeta, a Spanish-language media outlet in Boston. A Chilean consulate official was present at his court appearance Monday.
Ana Julia Jatar, in a video posted on Facebook, said her brother suffers from chronic hypertension that must be treated with medicine.
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"If something happens to my brother, if he doesn't receive his medicines, it will be the government of Nicolas Maduro's fault," said Jatar, who is married to Ricardo Hausmann, a prominent Harvard economist and former Venezuelan planning minister who is a frequent target of Maduro's scorn.
The arrest has been condemned by press freedom groups and Venezuela's opposition, which has been decrying a crackdown on anti-government activists amid increasing agitation against Maduro.
Foro Penal, a human rights group, says dozens of people were arrested as a result of disturbances at an opposition-organized march in Caracas last week that drew hundreds of thousands of people into the streets to demand a recall referendum against Maduro go forward. A handful remain detained.
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