Univision continues to disseminate fake news with regard to unrepentant FALN terrorist Oscar López Rivera, whose prison sentence was commuted by former President Barack Obama during his final hours in office. The latest instance of this image rehab happened on Sunday's edition of the network's weekly public affairs program, Al Punto, and featured some of the usual suspects.
The weekly Jorge Ramos show was a special inaugural edition, for which Ramos remained in Washington, D.C. in order to recap the inauguration of President Trump, as well as the ensuing Women's March in protest.
Congressman Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) appeared as a guest and discussed, among other things, his rationale for not attending the inaugural. Once Ramos was satisfied that Gutiérrez had sufficient time to air all his grievances, he proceeded to close the segment with this question:
JORGE RAMOS, SENIOR ANCHOR, UNIVISION: Before finishing, let me ask you about Oscar López, the Puerto Rican political prisoner who was given clemency by President Barack Obama. What did you say to President Barack Obama for him to liberate him?
CONGRESSMAN LUIS GUTIERREZ (D-IL): I told him that he is a hero for us.
Gutiérrez' love of all things Oscar Rivera López is a matter of record for readers of this byline. This is how we characterized the broad campaign to secure the unrepentant FALN terrorist's release:
The López Rivera commutation is nothing less than the culmination of a massive (and magnificently executed) fake news operation. Multiple elements of the radical left, the media, and the entertainment industry came together and presented a carefully-crafted image of Oscar López Rivera as a kindly grandfather who was unjustly imprisoned for supporting the ideal of independence for Puerto Rico. There was little to no presentation of the fullness of López Rivera's record, only a "political prisoner" narrative.
That willingness to disseminate fake news is exactly what we saw on display when Ramos unblinkingly parroted the "political prisoner" narrative and allowed Gutiérrez to sing effusive praises for the unrepentant terrorist without the slightest interest in "asking questions" that might discomfit the sensibilities of his very frequent guest.
Gutiérrez also disseminated fake news by misrepresenting the scope of support for the release of López Rivera. The fact is that López Rivera is certainly NOT viewed as a hero by the entire Puerto Rican community (whether on the island or on the U.S. mainland). Not only was support for López's commutation not unanimous, but Gutiérrez lacks the standing to thank President Obama on behalf of the totality of the Puerto Rican community - contrary to what his ubiquitous booking on Al Punto might suggest.
Univision's coverage of the commutation of Oscar López Rivera had always been plagued by bias due to a gross omission of an opposing viewpoint. By Ramos' dissemination of the "political prisoner" narrative and his unwillingness to question the commutation given the facts of the case and of the respective histories of López Rivera and of the FALN, Univision in effect engaged in terror apologia. For shame.
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Below is a complete transcript of the referenced portion of the interview, which aired during the January 22, 2017 edition of Univision's Al Punto:
JORGE RAMOS, SENIOR UNIVISION ANCHOR: Congressman, before we go...let me ask you about Oscar López...the Puerto Rican political prisoner who was given clemency by President Barack Obama. What did you say to President Barack Obama for him to liberate him?
U.S. REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ (D-IL): I told him that he is a hero for us. He's been imprisoned for 35 years. Bill Clinton -thank you- had already commuted his sentence.
JORGE RAMOS, SENIOR UNIVISION ANCHOR: But he chose not to leave.
U.S. REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ (D-IL): No, he decided not to leave because he said, "...not until we all leave." What an incredible man, right? That's why I said to him (OLR), "In Latin America, look, the presidents of Latin American countries called the president"...he re...the Pope, from the Vatican, they made the call so that Oscar López Rivera might be liberated. This turned into an international thing. In other words, you know what...
JORGE RAMOS, SENIOR UNIVISION ANCHOR:Trump...would Trump have freed him?
U.S. REP. LUIS GUTIÉRREZ (D-IL): Trump would have let him die in prison and he would have arrived to Puerto Rico in a coffin. I give...look, I know that the president was recalcitrant. He was often indifferent to our calls for the release of Oscar López. But I am very happy and very pleased with him, and I say to him on behalf of all Puerto Ricans and on behalf of all of us who believe in justice...thank you, Mr. President. And that is why at the end of the day, we're going to miss you very much.
