This article is part 3 in a 4 part series uncovering U.S. national news coverage of Venezuela from 1968 to 2025.
Hugo Chávez vs. The United States
As the United States was holding its presidential elections in November 1992, Hugo Chávez, a colonel in Venezuela's Army attempted and failed to overthrow the presidency of Carlos Andres Perez [23]. Chávez was imprisoned, but U.S. TV news recognized the unpopularity of Perez and reported when he was charged with embezzlement in 1993 [24]. However, U.S. broadcast news was shifting away from international news by the mid-1990s, and Americans saw fewer political stories from Venezuela between 1993 and 1998. For example, there seemed to be no mention in the TVNA of the pardon of Hugo Chávez in March 1994.
The predominant headlines from Venezuela in this time period were accidents and natural disasters, with some exceptions, like an investigative report by CBS’s Jerry Bowen on a CIA scandal involving Venezuelan drug trafficking [25]. Meanwhile cable news outlets like CNN picked up international news, including profiles of President Clinton's visit to Venezuela in 1997 [26].
U.S. news outlets were drawn back to Venezuela in the winter of 1998, when Hugo Chávez was elected president [27]. This news raised concerns of corruption, civil unrest, and a return to the ties between Venezuela and OPEC countries [28, 29]. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent U.S. Global War on Terror, new perceptions of Venezuela in American news media began to take shape.
Venezuela’s political conflicts between Chávez and his opponents were covered, periodically through brief bulletins and in the context of oil prices [30]. Chávez’s Venezuela was a frequent example of “rogue” states in conflict with U.S. foreign policy [31, 32]. In August 2005, Christian minister Pat Robertson called for the assassination of Chávez, then later apologized [33]. ABC Nightline then profiled Chávez the next month, with an interview.[34]
A year later, amid a series of diplomatic flashpoints between the two countries, CBS and ABC aired special assignments in Venezuela under Chávez's “near dictatorship”[35, 36]. Chávez grabbed headlines again in 2006 when he called President Bush the devil during a speech to the U.N. [37]. The news continued its coverage of Chávez and his government, especially comments about President Bush, and anti-democratic actions like Chávez’s move to shut down the RCTV television station in 2007 [38]. Coverage like this continued through the end of President Bush’s second term and into President Obama’s first term but tapered off as Americans turned their focus back to the economy and Obama’s foreign policy [39].
The segments referenced in this article are available for loan from the Vanderbilt Television News Archive:
[23] "Venezuela / Coup Attempt." ABC World News Tonight. November 27, 1992. 1 minute 40 seconds.
[24] "Venezuela / Embezzlement Charges Against President." CBS Evening News. May 20, 1993. 20 seconds.
[25] "CIA / Weapons and Drugs." CBS Evening News. November 15, 1996. 3 minutes.
[26] "Clinton / South America Visit / Venezuela" CNN World View. October 13, 1997. 2 minutes, 30 seconds.
[27] "Venezuela / Elections / Chávez." CNN World View. December 6, 1998. 4 minutes.
[28] "Venezuela / Referendum." CNN. December 15, 1999. 30 seconds.
[29] "Iraq / Venezuela / Chávez Visit." CNN. August 10, 2000. 2 minutes.
[31] “Chávez's Road to Power.” Fox News Channel, February 1, 2005. 1 minute, 58 seconds.
[34] “Nightline: A Conversation with Hugo Chávez.” ABC Nightline, September 15, 2005. 29 minutes.
[35] “A Closer Look (The Producers: Venezuela) Part II.” ABC World News Tonight, May 25, 2006. 3 minutes.
[36] “The Chávez Connection (Part I).” CBS Evening News, May 31, 2006. 2 minutes, 50 seconds.
[37] “U.N. / Chavez Speech.” ABC World News Tonight, September 20, 2007. 3 minutes 20 seconds.
[38] “Venezuela / Television Station Shutdown.” NBC Nightly News. May 28, 2007. 2 minutes 20 seconds.
[39] “Iran / Nuclear Showdown / Chávez.” Fox News Channel, July 30, 2006. 1 minute.