Leaked recording stirs political furor in Venezuela
CARACAS (Reuters) - ------
Opposition leaders on Monday played an hourlong, expletive-laced diatribe in which a man identified as powerful state TV commentator Mario Silva lambastes party heavyweight Diosdado Cabello.
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Silva, whose close links to the late Chavez have led many to see him as more powerful than some cabinet ministers, did not deny it was his voice but said the recording had been manipulated by Israeli intelligence and the CIA.
"The only way to get rid of Diosdado is to demonstrate that he is corrupt and is corrupting everyone else, and to show proof that (Chavez) knew about it," said the man on the recording, which sounded like Silva's familiar, gruff voice.
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In his alleged comments, Silva attacked a range of top government figures including the first lady, Cilia Flores, whom he accused of putting a group of "vampires" in charge of state TV and letting them "steal all the cash they could."
