Journalist Alonso Moleiro received threatening tweets from another Twitter user after he commented on an announcement that President Hugo Chávez had undergone surgery in Cuba.
(IPYS-Venezuela/IFEX) – On 9 December 2012, Alonso Moleiro, a journalist and announcer with Unión Radio, received death threats in the form of tweets from another Twitter user.
Moleiro, who hosts the La Guarandinga radio programme broadcast nationally on Onda 107.9, told IPYS-Venezuela that @max3jr wrote: “pray that Chávez lives, I swear to you that if the opposite happens, you will disappear or die”. The threat came after Moleiro (@amoleiro) tweeted some comments about the announcement that President Hugo Chávez had undergone surgery in Cuba to remove “malignant cells”. Chávez was diagnosed with cancer in June 2011.
Among other comments, Moleiro had said, “This is an exceptionally delicate moment. It is very important to recognise the pain of the chavistas over the feeling of uncertainty.”
The journalist also said that this was the second threat he had received from @max3jr. The first was in September 2012 during the campaign for the presidential elections, in which Chávez was re-elected on 7 October.
(Please note this is an abridged translation.)
