Former Deputy Accuses La Prensa of Conspiracy

Former deputy Zulay Rodríguez warned this Sunday that the newspaper La Prensa would have been aware of the 'modus operandi' of her former executive, Annette Planells, mentioned in situations involving the sensitive handling of information against the then candidacy of José Raúl Mulino. The newspaper clarified that Planells' incorporation to the Board of Directors and her subsequent designation as president was 'carried out under three clear and explicit conditions, which she accepted,' but did not comply. Curiously, this weekend, former presidential candidate Ricardo Lombana, who knows La Prensa's operations very well, having commanded its sub-directorate, said that he has it on good authority that the newspaper had full knowledge of how a conspiracy was hatched from that medium to deceive the population with rigged publications. Zulay reiterated that using this mode of operation, news would have been invented to harm several people, including herself, while politicians like Rómulo Roux were not targeted. According to the newspaper, Planells was required to sever any ties with the digital outlet Foco, suspend any political activism, and address and resolve the conflict of interest arising from her incorporation to the corporation, given that her brother Juan Carlos Planells served as the company's general manager. On Friday, following statements by lawyer Karisma Karamañites, La Prensa, S.A. Corporation (Corprensa) issued a statement disassociating itself from the actions of Annette Planells, ensuring that it does not endorse the actions of someone who was part of its board of directors. Rodríguez also mentioned that Foco published 'the fake news and in less than 24 hours they were on the front page.' La Prensa, S.A. Corporation states that it wishes to make it known that it does not share, endorse, or identify with the actions of Mrs. Planells, which not only depart from the elementary principles of ethical and responsible journalism but are also inconsistent with the institutional values that have historically characterized us. 'La Prensa's statement is false, they knew what Annette was doing and they openly supported her,' the lawyer said in response to the newspaper's October 12 statement. 'At the same time, it was being replicated by several radio stations, and finally, TVN aired it in its newscasts with staged reactions without the right of reply. Under this scheme, they were hitting their opponents to generate negative publicity for them,' she exposed. 'They have done a lot of harm to the democracy they once helped recover,' she concluded.