Sir, – The Irish Timeson September 28th published an article titled "Claim Venezuelans took part in raid in Dwyer case". The article reported a claim made by Mario Tadic, a Bolivian-Croat national, who was arrested on suspicion of involvement in a plot to assassinate the Bolivian President Evo Morales, that the Venezuelan military was involved in his detention. He further alleged that he had been tortured.
The article also made a passing reference to video footage that shows Venezuelan soldiers at a Bolivian airport during a period of civilian unrest.
The Tadic claim and the video footage are not connected.
The video, which can easily be seen on the internet, merely shows some off-duty Venezuelan military personnel walking through a peaceful airport in Bolivia. It certainly does not show them involved in any form of repression or military activities, as the article implies.
Finally, the public deserves to know that this video footage has already been the subject of a retraction by the Economist. – Yours, etc,