Venezuela Official Sues Dow Jones, News Corp. for Libel
May 05 2016 - 8:20PM
Dow Jones News
A top government official in Venezuela has sued Dow Jones &
Co. and News Corp. for libel, accusing reporters from The Wall
Street Journal of making false allegations about him related to
drug trafficking and money laundering.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court by
Diosdado Cabello-Rondon, widely considered the second most-powerful
man in Venezuela behind President Nicolá s Maduro. Mr. Cabello is a
member of Venezuela's National Assembly and serves as the vice
president of the country's governing socialist party.
In an eight-page complaint, Mr. Cabello accused the Journal of
making false and defamatory statements in an article published in
May 2015, which said Mr. Cabello was under investigation by U.S.
prosecutors on suspicion of trafficking cocaine and laundering
money through Venezuela.
Dow Jones, which is part of News Corp., publishes the
Journal.
The article said prosecutors were probing several high-ranking
Venezuelan officials and quoted an unnamed Justice Department
official, who said Mr. Cabello was "one of the heads, if not the
head, of the cartel."
In the lawsuit, Mr. Cabello said the article inaccurately
represented quotes from unnamed sources and was based on
"nonexistent or inaccurate accounts of ongoing law-enforcement
activities." He said the article caused him reputational and
economic damage, calling it a "vicious vendetta against Mr.
Cabello's character and good name."
Colleen Schwartz, a spokeswoman for Dow Jones, said in a
statement: "We are in the process of reviewing the suit, but we
have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting. We
will vigorously defend The Wall Street Journal against this
lawsuit."
A lawyer for Mr. Cabello didn't immediately respond to requests
for comment. Mr. Cabello is seeking an unspecified amount in
damages.
Write to Nicole Hong at nicole.hong@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 05, 2016 20:05 ET (00:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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