An earthquake in Venezuela saw a pro-Western opposition leader, invited by the BBC to criticize the country’s socialist government over inflation, swapped at the last minute. Ironically, his replacement blamed US sanctions.
The act of divine providence occurred after the start of Tuesday night’s Newsnight program, where a report on the introduction of a new currency by Nicolas Maduro’s government was earlier billed with being followed by an interview with a pro-West “senior Venezuelan opposition leader.”
However, the interview was scuppered at the last minute, with presenter Evan Davis explaining that only minutes before, an earthquake had struck the South American nation causing the guest to flee the studio in Caracas.
Enter journalist and activist Gregory Wilpert, who instead of giving an anti-government tirade, pointed to the crippling effect US-imposed sanctions had on the country.
For Wilpert, while President Maduro did not move quickly enough to institute “a new economic policy in a timely manner,” the “very harsh” financial sanctions imposed by the US government made it impossible to refinance its debt.
“You could arguably say that this was the straw that broke the camel’s back that led to hyperinflation,” Wilpert concluded before Evans wrapped up the interview.
The irony behind the unscheduled guest swap wasn't lost on those weary of the mainstream media, with one commenting that “sometimes God writes the best scripts.”
Others meanwhile, relished in how quickly the BBC rushed Wilpert off once the interview didn’t go their way.
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