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00:18Hello and welcome to Global Eye, a program bringing you the best of the World Services
00:24investigative journalism and unmissable reporting from BBC teams around the globe.
00:29I'm Norberto Paredes, a reporter at BBC Mundo, and this week we're in Venezuela.
00:35On January 3rd, the residents of Caracas woke to a huge explosion.
00:40President Nicolás Maduro had been captured by U.S. forces and was being taken to New
00:45York to face federal drug and weapons charges.
00:48Venezuela is now under the leadership of Delce Rodriguez, Maduro's former vice president.
00:53Under her administration, the country is undergoing a series of reforms that seemed unthinkable
01:00just a year ago.
01:01But she's walking a political tightrope.
01:08Later in the program, we'll bring you the untold story of last year's mass protests in
01:13Nepal that toppled the government there.
01:17BBC's forensic investigators, using thousands of hours of video footage and exclusive eyewitness
01:24accounts, uncover how the actions of the police that day led to the death of 19 protesters.
01:33And I'll be reporting from the Venezuelan city left high and dry by the decline of the country's
01:38oil industry.
01:40Many people there are hoping that the return of U.S. oil firms will bring the good times
01:46back.
01:49In the early hours of January 3rd, explosions rocked the Venezuelan capital as U.S. forces
01:55launch Operation Absolute Resolve.
01:58The mission aimed to dismantle national air defenses and capture Nicolás Maduro alongside
02:03his wife, Celia Flores.
02:06While men in the Venezuelan diaspora celebrated a tense poem to quote here in the streets of Venezuela.
02:12Under the Maduro administration, support for foreign interventions have been criminalized,
02:18so people couldn't talk about it freely.
02:22With Maduro now in U.S. custody, Venezuela is in flux, navigating a forced political transition
02:29amidst immense economic pressure and internal instability.
02:34Interim President Delta Rodriguez has introduced a way of new policies.
02:39But so far, although she has instigated radical economic change like ending the state monopoly
02:44in the oil industry, movement on political reform has been slower.
02:50How things by now may well depend on the answer to a critical question.
02:54What truly motivates President Donald Trump?
02:58Is it a genuine commitment to democracy?
03:01A desire to impose U.S. power in its geopolitical backyards or simply a bid to control Venezuela's
03:08oil?
03:12I was born and bred up in Venezuela and have come back here to report on this huge moment for
03:19my country.
03:23Venezuela is a land of extraordinary diversity from its sweeping landscapes like the Avila
03:28National Park you can see behind me to the warmth of its people.
03:32Sitting at the northern tip of South America, it is just as much a Caribbean nation as it is
03:38a South American one.
03:39The discovery of oil, a century ago, forged a deep connection with the United States, weaving
03:44American influence into the heart of the country.
03:47You can see this most clearly in its sporting culture.
03:51While its neighbors live for football, in Venezuela, baseball is the national game.
03:57And basketball is as nearly as popular.
04:04Maduro may be gone, but the machinery of Chavismo, an anti-American nationalist ideology created
04:11by his predecessor Hugo Chavez, remains firmly in control, including in the Venezuelan parliament
04:17here behind me.
04:19Within the movement, some hardliners remain deeply hostile to political reform, which explains
04:25why Delce Rodriguez is projecting two very different personas.
04:29To her core supporters, she is still the uncompromising anti-American voice of the revolution.
04:35But to the international communities, she is showing a new willingness to cooperate with
04:40Washington and reform the country.
04:43The question is, how sustainable is this balancing act?
04:47Many Venezuelans fear Rodriguez is simply playing for time in a bid to cement her grip on power,
04:53Cuba, a tactic used by her predecessor many times before.
04:59Amid U.S. pressure for reforms, since the capture of Maduro, the government has released
05:04hundreds of political prisoners, including two prominent pro-democracy activists held in
05:11the notorious Lelicoide prison.
05:13They told me of their hopes for Venezuela's future.
05:17Look, I'm with a lot of expectations, with a lot of hope, with a lot of hope, that this
05:26is for good, that we can advance concretely.
05:34I will take the word to the president, the president, Elcy Rodriguez, who is currently
05:42being the power in Venezuela, and no one can be punished more by poverty in this country.
05:49Pese a lot of years, I want to forgive and build the country, build that civilization of
05:54love, that the interest of the country is the interest of any political party, any pretension.
06:02I want to go without hatred, without resentments, without regret, to build that Venezuela.
06:09While the world focuses on the political drama, for most Venezuelans, the immediate concern
06:15is survival.
06:17This is a nation that has lost 70% of its GDP since 2013.
06:23While the average monthly wage is between 60 and 70 US dollars a month, it is a drop in
06:30the ocean when a basic monthly food basket costs over 500 US dollars.
06:36For the average family, the numbers simply do not add up.
06:41Weeks have now passed since America's strike on Caracas.
06:46But it remains unclear if the country is truly heading towards democracy.
06:51So far the changes have done little to improve daily life, and the opposition still feels silence.
06:59Well, another country where the future of democracy is front and center is Nepal.
07:05Voters there will decide on a new government this week.
07:08It's six months since a popular protest led by young people on September the 8th ended
07:14in violence, and the death of 19 people.
07:17The killings led to widespread protests, destruction, and the fall of the government.
07:24Using evidence from more than 4,000 videos and photographs, as well as exclusive accounts
07:29from police and protesters, BBCI has carried out a forensic investigation into how agency
07:36protests turned to tragedy and led to unarmed protesters, some as young as 17, being killed
07:44by police.
08:06Nepal, September 8th, 2025.
08:09On the streets of Kathmandu, Gen Z protesters call for change and are met with tear gas and
08:17live fire.
08:20Over the next few hours, 19 young Nepalis are shot dead by their own security forces.
08:27Anger at these deaths ignites a second day of protest, and this time it cannot be contained.
08:41Drawing on more than 4,000 videos filmed on the streets, and an exclusive leaked record
08:47of police radio, BBCI pieces together a forensic account of the most dramatic two days in Nepal's
08:54recent history, and reveals who gave the order to open fire.
09:03The anger that brought down Nepal's government began not on the streets, but on social media.
09:11Gen Z, sick of what they saw as corruption and cronyism, used hashtag Nepo babies to deride
09:18the lavish lifestyles of the country's political elite.
09:22Struggling to contain the dissent, the government of Prime Minister K.P.
09:26Oli took a drastic decision.
09:28Now in news from Nepal, the country has cracked down on a number of social media platforms,
09:33including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram.
09:37Undeterred, Nepal's Gen Z protesters regrouped on discord.
09:44By September 8, they were on the streets of Kathmandu.
09:52Police had expected around 3,000 people, but tens of thousands turned out.
09:57And the police are quickly overwhelmed.
10:06Already, things are getting out of hand.
10:10And the crowd sweeps towards the gates of Nepal's parliament.
10:18By 11.58, protesters face off against armed police.
10:26Some even manage to break into the grounds of parliament.
10:34At 12.30, the authorities impose a curfew.
10:38The gathering is now illegal.
10:45But it seems to make things worse.
10:50Seeing the gatehouse on fire panicked officers radio for help, asking the superiors for permission
10:56to use live ammunition.
10:59We know this because the BBC has obtained a leak of the police radio log that day.
11:05This document has never been made public.
11:08It reveals that it's now, at 12.40, that the permission to use force is given.
11:16It's not long before protesters start to get shot.
11:22The first fatality we see is at the corner of the parliamentary complex, where a young
11:27man called Binod Marjan is carried away with a gunshot wound to the head.
11:32On discord, news of live fire spreads from phone to phone.
11:37And on the streets, anger escalates to fury.
11:43The police are overwhelmed.
11:47This group was cornered outside the gates.
11:53The assault lasts for four minutes.
11:57At 1.42, our police timeline records the panic among officers.
12:03Police bleeding profusely and about to be killed.
12:06Open fire to establish safety.
12:12Within minutes, another man is shot.
12:1527-year-old Kamal Kimiri.
12:17At 1.48, we find him on the opposite side of the avenue.
12:22This is the view from Kamal's own phone.
12:25He records a group of police officers, at least two of whom are armed with handguns.
12:35Kamal then walks away from the front lines.
12:38Kamal then walks away from the front lines.
12:39His camera captures this man, throwing a stone at police.
12:46Kamal falls.
12:47And then...
12:50Kamal falls.
12:57We have found another view of this incident.
13:01Here is Kamal.
13:07Kamal is shot.
13:28The man throwing the stone.
13:32Kamal just moments before.
13:35The bullet missed Kamal's spine by millimeters.
13:39He survived.
13:43Watching this scene was another young man.
13:4617-year-old Shriyam Chawlagai.
13:48Kamal still in his school uniform.
13:52Six minutes later, closer to the junction,
13:57we catch Shriyam again.
14:02Ahead of him, a group of protesters is pelting the police with stones.
14:10But Shriyam turns away from the violence and moves back towards the junction.
14:14These are the last steps he takes.
14:19Moments later, another phone captures images,
14:22which go viral across Nepal.
14:35Bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound to the back of the head.
14:43Bystanders lift him into an ambulance.
14:46But it's too late.
14:48By the time he arrives at the National Trauma Center,
14:52Shriyam is dead.
14:55He's the youngest victim shot outside Nepal's parliament on September 8th.
15:05The next person to be killed, Yohgindra Nupani,
15:08is shot just a few steps away.
15:12And this time, we have the clearest evidence yet
15:15that as Yohgindra fell,
15:17shots were being fired from inside the grounds of parliament.
15:21Just 90 seconds before the shooting,
15:28vlogger Nishet Dahal turns his camera towards the grounds of parliament.
15:35Pay attention to this group of police officers.
15:40At exactly 2.21,
15:42they move towards the wall,
15:44separating parliament from the street.
15:57Seconds later,
16:06We hear seven gunshots.
16:12And see Yohgindra bleeding to death on the ground.
16:20This camera angle does not reveal who shot him.
16:24But we found another clip of the same moment,
16:27filmed from a few steps further along the pavement.
16:34At first glance,
16:36there is no more evidence here.
16:42But if we zoom in
16:44and stabilize the footage,
16:46we can clearly see gunshots.
16:59This is the clearest visual evidence we have found,
17:02indicating that unarmed protesters were shot dead
17:06by Nepali police from inside the grounds of parliament.
17:10Yohgindra died of his injuries.
17:13He was 24.
17:16According to official figures,
17:1719 young Nepalis were killed in the protest on September 8th.
17:23None of those we examined
17:24were involved in any sort of violence.
17:31So how did the police come to open fire on their own citizens?
17:36According to our police sources
17:38and the leaked transcript,
17:40the order came through police radio
17:42from callsign Kilo1.
17:45But permission to use lethal force
17:48came from his boss,
17:50callsign P2-1.
17:54Curfew already in place.
17:56No further need to obtain permission.
17:59Deploy necessary force.
18:01P2-1 was Chandrakubir Khapum,
18:04Nepal's most senior officer,
18:06the inspector general of police.
18:08He has denied responsibility.
18:12Nepal police told us
18:14the decision to use force
18:15came from a committee
18:16made up of Nepal's main security forces.
18:19They said IGP Khapum
18:22did not issue the order
18:24to use force
18:25ahead of the committee's decision
18:27to do so.
18:30The following day,
18:31September 9th,
18:32the protesters
18:33are back on the streets.
18:37A second curfew is imposed
18:39but it cannot contain the fuel.
18:43Crowds morph into mobs
18:46targeting the police,
18:50the homes of political leaders,
18:53government buildings.
18:56Left undefended,
18:57Nepal's parliament
18:58is set ablaze.
19:04By that evening,
19:06fire has engulfed police stations
19:08singled about
19:09the historic compound
19:10housing most government ministries,
19:13even the Supreme Court.
19:14the Supreme Court.
19:29Finally, at nine,
19:31the army steps in,
19:33imposing a peace
19:34that has held until now.
19:37And installing a caretaker
19:38prime minister,
19:39Sushila Karki.
19:41Her task?
19:42Overseeing fresh elections
19:44and an inquiry
19:45still ongoing
19:46into the events
19:47of September 8th
19:48and 9th.
19:50While police and politicians
19:52pass the buck,
19:53the families
19:54of those killed
19:54are mourning
19:55their loved ones,
19:57like Shriyam's mother.
20:00We are all the same.
20:02We have all the same.
20:03We have all the same.
20:05We have all the same.
20:06We have all the same.
20:07We have all the same.
20:08One day,
20:09we have all the same.
20:10We have all our family.
20:12We have all the same.
20:13It's a nightmare.
20:14It's a nightmare.
20:20It is a nightmare.
20:21And I think it's a nightmare.
20:25It's a nightmare.
20:26It's a nightmare.
20:43Elsewhere on the World Service this week, the Asia-specific podcast has been shining a spotlight on Rodrigo Duterte, the
20:51former president of the Philippines.
20:54The International Criminal Court has been considering whether Duterte should stand trial for crimes against humanity over his brutal so
21:03-called war on drugs, which resulted in the death of tens of thousands of Filipinos.
21:09Underlying the story is a power struggle between the Philippines' two dominant political families, the Dutertes and the Marcoses.
21:18You can listen to a full podcast on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts, or watching Vision on
21:25the BBC World Service's YouTube channel.
21:29The new Venezuelan government's move to denationalize the old industry is being watched closely in the country's second largest city,
21:37Maracaibo.
21:39The city is at the heart of Venezuela's oil-producing region, and many are hopeful the reforms will bring prosperity
21:46back to a part of the country hit hard by American sanctions,
21:50even though it may seem problematic to some in an era of catastrophic climate change.
21:55But times have been tough in Maracaibo.
21:59I went to that region to find out who the people there blame for their economic stagnation,
22:04and whether the return of big oil really will help the region get back on its feet.
22:16This is Leymar Arcaibo, on Venezuela's north coast.
22:25Here, you'll find local fishing boats, and the heart of Venezuela's oil industry.
22:32The wealth from the earth here once made Venezuela rich, but now it's a random reminder of better times.
22:42This is where oil was first discovered in the country a century ago.
22:47You can see the oil right here on the surface.
22:49You can't even touch it.
22:50If Donald Trump is really going to make Venezuela great again, as he says,
22:54this is where the impact will be felt first.
22:58Decades of mismanagement on their investment and sanctions have left the oil sector crumbling,
23:04and pollution is affecting one of the last remaining industries.
23:10Every year, Fisherman Carlos is pulling fewer fish from these contaminated waters.
23:16Despite the removal of his president by Donald Trump,
23:19he's ready for American investment and the oil to start flowing once more.
23:24It would be much better, because that's how there's work.
23:27There's work, and let's say,
23:30the people of one's not going to get a lot of fish,
23:31but they also going to get a future, and we'll go ahead.
23:35It would be good that the oil company of those petroleras
23:39would have been here, and they would have done this bad, you know?
23:43That here we all help, and then we'll get a lot of petrol.
23:46It would be good for another change.
23:49We want another change to our lakes.
23:53Venezuela holds an estimated 303 billion barrels of proven oil reserves,
23:59the largest in the world.
24:01Where he wants, where you want.
24:03Supporters of chavism, like Jose Luzardo,
24:06view Donald Trump's approach with suspicion.
24:08Well, I'm going to tell you with your heart in your hand.
24:21In the mid 20th century, Maracaibo was a symbol of the great wealth of the oil boom.
24:27International oil companies built whole neighborhoods for the workers.
24:32Today, many of those homes stand empty.
24:36But oil did more than power Venezuela's economy.
24:40It helped shape its identity.
24:44In one of those homes, we met Jose Gregorio Martinez,
24:47who still hasn't lost hope of seeing the good times return.
25:15Maracaibo leaves a contradiction.
25:17Despite the region's potential, the city has suffered a severe energy crisis during the Chavista era.
25:24Many trace the industry's collapse to 2002,
25:28when strikes against Hugo Chavez led to major reforms at PDVSA.
25:32You told me, my brother.
25:34Out!
25:35Chavez, who took power in 1999, responded by dismissing thousands of workers.
25:40How was working for that company?
25:42Jorge, not his real name, was one of the workers dismissed at the time.
25:48He doesn't want to have his face and name disclosed for fear of retaliation by the Venezuelan government.
25:54When did you start the decadence of PDVSA?
25:58Well, with the leave.
26:00You can't lose 18,000 technical people in a company.
26:04And no happens.
26:05You need a company that serves the political interests that they had planned.
26:10And of course, all the staff and most of the technical staff opposed to that.
26:16That means, we're not going to change.
26:18But these have been so geniuses that they broke a petrol company,
26:24an excellence, the joy of Venezuela.
26:27They broke it.
26:28I think that didn't happen in any part of the world.
26:31And this is my conviction, very personal.
26:34When this happens, we'll recover the country and we'll have a right state.
26:38This is going to recover very quickly.
26:43Chavismo acknowledges corruption cases that hurt the industry,
26:47but mainly blames the economic sanctions imposed by the United States
26:51during Nicolás Maduro's administration for the decline.
26:55Juan Romero, a member of parliament representing Zulia,
26:59and a local leader of the Freedom Pesuvia Party,
27:01says foreign investment is key to the industry's survival.
27:05This is a legal issue.
27:06In the lake of Maracaibo, there are about 13,000 trees that can be recovered
27:10and there are reserves of 26,000 million barrels of petrol.
27:13What do you need to recover?
27:15Inversions.
27:16Inversions.
27:17The Venezuelan state,
27:18by the uninterrupted economic fix,
27:21from 2013 to now,
27:23has no capacity.
27:24What we have is to attract foreign investment.
27:29The recovery economic seems to be a priority for everyone here.
27:34There are also calls for democracy,
27:37free elections and reparations for victims of human rights abuses,
27:41though for now, not many dare to mention this openly.
27:44The government now says that they want to invest more
27:47to exploit more oil industry,
27:50and that they produce more oil.
27:52What do you think of that?
27:54If it's a better life for us,
27:57a better life,
27:59and for the future of our children,
28:02we hope that,
28:04for us, the Venezuelans,
28:06it's better.
28:07It's better.
28:07Because, in fact,
28:09we are seeing a situation where,
28:11in fact,
28:12there are times when we don't have good fish,
28:15and we don't have food,
28:16and we don't have food.
28:16We're waiting for the other day,
28:17with that desire,
28:18a bottle of water,
28:19and to see what God presents us in the other day.
28:21.
28:26Thanks for joining me in Caracas.
28:28We want your feedback on Global Eye.
28:31Let us know what you think on social media,
28:33using the hashtag BBCGlobalEye.
28:36Next week,
28:37we'll be reporting from Australia.
28:39Goodbye.
28:54Bye.
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