DISINFO: Infiltrated US marine 'caught' in the barricades in Venezuela
SUMMARY
A US marine infiltrated the ‘guarimberos’ (a popular term for the participants on ‘guarimbas’ or barricades). He was leading the violent incidents on the Colombia-Venezuela border and teaching subversive techniques to the ‘guarimberos’ hired by opposition deputy José Manuel Olivares. This proves that the Venezuelan right, Colombian president Iván Duque and the US have plans to promote violence in the country.
RESPONSE
A simple check to the marine's Instagram account that appears in the video in Lechuginos web page is enough to debunk the whole theory. Far from carrying out an infiltration, which would require a high degree of secrecy, Luis Medina, a US marine of Venezuelan origin, boasts about his participation in the riots and that he is part of the US Army. There is nothing to suggest that this is a clandestine operation but rather a citizen who joined the protests on an individual basis and just happened to be a military officer; even less so that he led the violent incidents. This is a recurrent narrative that the US is staging provocations in Venezuela to justify a military intervention, as you can see here and here.