Venezuela Information Office

Venezuela Information Office (VIO)

Formation	July 2003
Type	Lobbying
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Owner	Government of Venezuela
Executive Director	Olivia Goumbri
Key people	Deborah James (former Executive Director)
Parent organization	Embassy of Venezuela, Washington, D.C.
Budget	+$1 million (2007)
Mission	"To prevent US intervention in Venezuela."

The Venezuela Information Office (VIO) was a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying agency that stated to be seeking to "present a more accurate view of the current process in Venezuela for the US public, build strategic allies for the Venezuelan people, and prevent the US from intervening in the democratic process in Venezuela." Created and financed by the government of Venezuela, VIO was registered with the United States Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. While operational, conservative and pro-opposition outlets accused the agency of being propaganda organization of the Venezuelan government and the Bolivarian Revolution.

Hugo Chávez set up the VIO in 2003 in order to combat criticism from the United States. In September 2003, VIO contacted Global Exchange in order to "ensure success" of their campaign while also discussing "ideas for strategizing on Venezuela" and "to begin conference calls of solidarity groups". In February 2004, it closed and then suddenly reopened a month later with new staff and a budget of $660,000. In 2005, the VIO received about $800,000 for the year. By 2007, the funding received by the VIO had risen to over $1,000,000. The VIO's "rethinkvenezuela.com" website has not been active since 2009.

According to the VIO, the agency sought "to present a more accurate view of the current process in Venezuela for the US public, build strategic allies for the Venezuelan people, and prevent the US government from intervening in the democratic process in Venezuela," using Congressional advocacy and grassroots public education and action. In 2007, the VIO only contacted 8 offices of the United States Congress, though it had contacted hundreds of journalists, local officials, academics and students.

In addition to maintaining a public website and a blog, VIO promoted its views in the media in a number of ways, including issuing press releases, contributing articles (such as responses to the 2008 Human Rights Watch report on Venezuela), and being available for interviews. The VIO had also run a campaign of ads in the United States.