Milei spends $100mln for cyberattacks against Venezuela: Maduro

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
17 Aug 2024 06:33
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The Venezuelan President has accused his Argentine counterpart of spending around $100 million in public funds to undermine his government.

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Argentine President Javier Milei stands on an armored tank during a military parade celebrating Independence Day in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 9, 2024. (AP)

Cyberattacks against Venezuela are being launched from bot farms in Argentina, Mexico, and Spain, funded by Javier Milei's Argentine government, Venezuela's President, Nicolas Maduro, said.

Maduro said that Milei's government financed a series of massive cyber against Caracas with public funds. He said that the Argentine president had spent the "equivalent of 100 million dollars," from the Secretariat of State Intelligence's funds to attack the Bolivarian government.

Maduro said that experts traced the attacks back to massive bot farms in Argentina, Mexico, and Spain. Among the targets of the bot farms are 106 Venezuelan-based websites that have come under cyberattacks in the past 20 days.

He also said that at least 106 websites in the country have been victims of cyber attacks in the past 20 days.

Blackmail and Manipulation of Public Opinion

Beyond targeting political figures, bot farms have become a tool for blackmailing public figures, including artists and influencers, both within and beyond Venezuela's borders.

The president cited the case of Pedro Infante, a prominent Venezuelan singer, who received threatening messages via WhatsApp. These messages demanded that he denounce Maduro's government, with the implicit threat of harm to him and his family if he refused.

In response, Maduro urged the youth and the broader public to defend Venezuela’s truth on social media, advocating for the dissemination of accurate information and the strengthening of popular power.

He emphasized the crucial role of participatory and proactive democracy in safeguarding the Venezuelan revolutionary process and called on all sectors of society to actively contribute to the building and defense of a sovereign nation.

The remarks come after Maduro's landmark victory in the country's presidential elections, which faced a substantial campaign launched by the US and allied governments, as well as X's owner Elon Musk.