All language subtitles for Global.Eye.S2026E07.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-7VFr33104D_track3_[eng]

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Hello and welcome to Global Eye,

a programme bringing you the best
of the World Service's

investigative journalism
and unmissable reporting

from BBC teams around the globe.

I'm Norberto Paredes,
a reporter at BBC Mundo,

and this week we're in Venezuela.

On January 3rd, the residents
of Caracas woke to a huge explosion.

President Nicolas Maduro
had been captured by US forces

and was being taken
to New York to face

federal drug and weapons charges.

Venezuela is now under
the leadership of Delcy Rodriguez,

Maduro's former Vice President.

Under her administration,

the country is undergoing
a series of reforms

that seemed unthinkable
just a year ago.

But she's walking
a political tightrope.

Later in the programme,

we'll bring you the untold story
of last year's mass protests

in Nepal that toppled
the government there.

BBC Eye's forensic investigators,
using thousands of hours

of video footage
and exclusive eyewitness accounts,

uncover how the actions
of the police that day

led to the death of 19 protesters.

And I'll be reporting
from the Venezuelan city

left high and dry by the decline
of the country's oil industry.

Many people there are hoping
that the return

of US oil firms will bring
the good times back.

In the early hours of January 3rd,

explosions rocked the Venezuelan
capital as US forces

launched Operation Absolute Resolve.

The mission aimed to dismantle
national air defences

and capture Nicolas Maduro
alongside his wife, Cilia Flores.

While many in the Venezuelan
diaspora celebrated,

a tense calm took hold here
in the streets of Venezuela.

Under the Maduro administration,

supports of foreign intervention
had been criminalised,

so people couldn't
talk about it freely.

With Maduro now in US custody,
Venezuela is in flux,

navigating a forced
political transition

amidst immense economic pressure
and internal instability.

Interim President Delcy Rodriguez

has introduced
a wave of new policies.

But so far, although she has
instigated radical economic change,

like ending the state monopoly
in the oil industry,

movement on political reform
has been slower.

How things pan out may well depend

on the answer to
a critical question -

what truly motivates
President Donald Trump?

Is it a genuine commitment
to democracy?

A desire to impose US power
in his geopolitical back yard,

or simply a bid
to control Venezuela's oil?

I was born and brought up
in Venezuela

and have come back here to report
on this huge moment for my country.

Venezuela is a land
of extraordinary diversity,

from its sweeping landscapes,

like the Avila National Park
you can see behind me,

to the warmth of its people.

Sitting at the northern tip
of South America,

it is just as much
a Caribbean nation

as it is a South American one.

The discovery of oil a century
ago forged a deep connection

with the United States,

weaving American influence
into the heart of the country.

You can see this most clearly
in its sporting culture.

While its neighbours
live for football,

in Venezuela,
baseball is the national game,

and basketball is
as nearly as popular.

Maduro may be gone,

but the machinery of Chavismo and
anti-American nationalist ideology

created by his predecessor,
Hugo Chavez,

remains firmly in control,

including in the Venezuelan
parliament here behind me.

Within the movement,
some hardliners remain

deeply hostile to political reform,

which explains why Delcy Rodriguez

is projecting two
very different personas.

To her core supporters,
she's still the uncompromising

anti-American voice
of the revolution.

But to the international community,

she is showing a new
willingness to cooperate

with Washington
and reform the country.

The question is, how sustainable
is this balancing act?

Many Venezuelans fear Rodriguez
is simply playing for time

in a bid to cement
her grip on power,

a tactic used by her predecessor
many times before.

Amid US pressure for reforms
since the capture of Maduro,

the government has released hundreds
of political prisoners,

including two prominent
pro-democracy activists

held in the notorious
El Helicoide prison.

They told me of their hopes
for Venezuela's future.

While the world focuses
on the political drama,

for most Venezuelans,
the immediate concern is survival.

This is a nation that has lost
70% of its GDP since 2013.

While the average monthly wage
is between 60 and 70 USD a month,

it is a drop in the ocean
when a basic monthly food basket

costs over 500 USD.

For the average family,
the numbers simply do not add up.

Weeks have now passed
since America's strike on Caracas,

but it remains unclear
if the country

is truly heading
towards democracy.

So far, the changes have done
little to improve daily life,

and the opposition
still feels silenced.

Well, another country
where the future of democracy

is front and centre is Nepal.

Voters there will decide
on a new government this week.

It's six months since a popular
protest led by young people

on September 8th ended in violence

and the death of 19 people.

The killings led
to widespread protests,

destruction, and the fall
of the government.

Using evidence from more than
4,000 videos and photographs,

as well as exclusive accounts
from police and protesters,

BBC Eye has carried out
a forensic investigation

into how a Gen Z protest
turned to tragedy

and led to unarmed protesters,

some as young as 17,
being killed by police.

Nepal, September 8th, 2025.

On the streets of Kathmandu,

Gen Z protesters call for change

and are met with tear gas
and live fire.

Over the next few hours,
19 young Nepalis are shot dead

by their own security forces.

Anger at these deaths ignites
a second day of protest,

and this time it cannot
be contained.

Drawing on more than
4,000 videos filmed on the streets,

and an exclusive leaked record
of police radio,

BBC Eye pieces together
a forensic account

of the most dramatic two days
in Nepal's recent history,

and reveals who gave
the order to open fire.

The anger that brought
down Nepal's government

began not on the streets
but on social media.

Gen Z, sick of what they saw
as corruption and cronyism,

used #nepobabies to deride
the lavish lifestyles

of the country's political elite.

Struggling to contain
the dissent,

the government of
Prime Minister KP Oli

took a drastic decision.

Now, in news from Nepal
the country has cracked down

on a number
of social media platforms,

including Facebook,
YouTube, Instagram...

Undeterred, Nepal's Gen Z
protesters regrouped on Discord.

By September 8th,

they were on the streets
of Kathmandu.

Police had expected
around 3,000 people,

but tens of thousands turn out and
the police are quickly overwhelmed.

Already, things are
getting out of hand...

...and the crowd sweeps towards
the gates of Nepal's parliament.

By 11.58, protesters face off
against armed police.

Some even managed to break into
the grounds of parliament.

At 12.30, the authorities
impose a curfew.

The gathering is now illegal.

But it seems to make things worse.

Seeing the gatehouse on fire,
panicked officers radio for help,

asking their superiors for
permission to use live ammunition.

We know this because
the BBC has obtained

a leak of the police radio log
that day.

This document
has never been made public.

It reveals that it's now, at 12.40,

that the permission
to use force is given.

It's not long before protesters
start to get shot.

The first fatality we see

is at the corner of
the parliamentary complex,

where a young man called
Binod Maharjan is carried away

with a gunshot wound to the head.

On Discord, news of live fire

spreads from phone to phone,

and on the streets anger
escalates to fury.

The police are overwhelmed.

This group was cornered
outside the gates.

The assault lasts for four minutes.

At 1.42, our police timeline records
the panic among officers.

Police bleeding profusely
and about to be killed.

Open fire to establish safety.

Within minutes, another man is shot.

27-year-old Kamal Ghimire.

At 1.48, we find him on
the opposite side of the avenue.

This is the view
from Kamal's own phone.

He records a group
of police officers,

at least two of whom
are armed with handguns.

Kamal then walks away
from the front lines.

His camera captures this man...

...throwing a stone at police.

And then...

GUNSHOTS

...Kamal falls.

We have found another view
of this incident.

Here is Kamal,

the man throwing the stone,

and the moment Kamal is shot.

His medical report states
that the bullet

entered beneath his left arm
and exited through his back.

We do not know
the precise trajectory,

but we can see the general direction

from which this bullet was fired.

It points towards the same
group of police

Kamal Ghimire had filmed
just moments before.

The bullet missed Kamal's spine
by millimetres.

He survived.

Watching this scene
was another young man,

17-year-old Shreeyam Chaulagain,
still in his school uniform.

Six minutes later,
closer to the junction...

...we catch Shreeyam again.

Ahead of him, a group of protesters
is pelting the police with stones.

But Shreeyam turns away from
the violence

and moves back towards the junction.

These are the last steps he takes.

Moments later, another phone
captures images

which go viral across Nepal.

Bleeding heavily from a gunshot
wound to the back of the head...

...bystanders lift him
into an ambulance,

but it's too late.

By the time he arrives at
the National Trauma Centre,

Shreeyam is dead.

He's the youngest victim

shot outside Nepal's parliament
on September 8th.

The next person to be killed,

Yogendra Neupane,

is shot just a few steps away.

And this time, we have the
clearest evidence yet that,

as Yogendra fell,

shots were being fired from
inside the grounds of parliament.

Just 90 seconds
before the shooting...

...a vlogger turns his camera

towards the grounds of parliament.

Pay attention to this group
of police officers.

At exactly 2:21,

they move towards the wall

separating parliament
from the street.

CLAMOUR

Seconds later...

GUNSHOTS

...we hear seven gunshots.

And see Yogendra

bleeding to death on the ground.

This camera angle does not
reveal who shot him...

...but we found another
clip of the same moment,

filmed from a few steps
further along the pavement.

At first glance, there
is no more evidence here.

But if we zoom in...

...and stabilise the footage,

we can clearly see gunshots.

This is the clearest
visual evidence we have found,

indicating that unarmed
protesters were shot dead

by Nepali police from inside
the grounds of parliament.

Yogendra died of his injuries.

He was 24.

According to official figures.

19 young Nepalis were killed
in the protest on September 8th.

None of those we examined were

involved in any sort of violence.

So, how did the police come
to open fire on their own citizens?

According to our police sources,

and the leaked transcript,

the order came through police
radio from callsign Kilo 1.

But permission to use lethal force

came from his boss,
callsign Peter 1.

Curfew already in place.

No further need to
obtain permission.

Deploy necessary force.

Peter 1 was Chandra
Kuber Khapung,

Nepal's most senior officer,

the Inspector General of Police.

He has denied responsibility.

Nepal Police told us the decision
to use force came from a committee

made up of Nepal's
main security forces.

They said...

The following day, September 9th,

the protesters are
back on the streets.

A second curfew is imposed,
but it cannot contain the fury.

Crowds morph into mobs...

...targeting the police...

...the homes of political leaders...

...government buildings.

Left undefended,

Nepal's parliament is set ablaze.

By that evening, fire has
engulfed police stations,

Singha Durbar -
the historic compound

housing most government ministries -

even the Supreme Court.

Finally, at 9.00, the army steps in,

imposing a peace that
has held until now...

...and installing a caretaker
Prime Minister, Sushila Karki.

Her task, overseeing fresh elections

and an inquiry, still ongoing, into
the events of September 8th and 9th.

While police and politicians pass
the buck,

the families of those killed

are mourning their loved ones.

Like Shreeyam's mother.

Elsewhere on the
World Service this week,

the Asia Specific podcast has been
shining a spotlight

on Rodrigo Duterte,

the former President
of the Philippines.

The International Criminal Court

has been considering whether
Duterte should stand trial

for crimes against humanity

over his brutal
so-called war on drugs,

which resulted in the death
of tens of thousands of Filipinos.

Underlying the story is a power
struggle between

the Philippines' two
dominant political families,

the Dutertes and the Marcoses.

You can listen to the full
podcast on BBC Sounds

or wherever you get your podcasts,

or watch, in vision, on the BBC
World Service's YouTube channel.

The new Venezuelan government's move
to denationalise the oil industry

is being watched closely in the
country's second largest city,

Maracaibo.

The city's at the heart of
Venezuela's oil producing region,

and many are hopeful the reforms
will bring prosperity back

to a part of the country hit hard

by American sanctions.

Even though it may
seem problematic to some

in an era of
catastrophic climate change.

But times have been
tough in Maracaibo.

I went to that region to find out

who the people there blame
for the economic stagnation,

and whether the return of big oil

really will help the region
get back on its feet.

This is Lake Maracaibo
on Venezuela's north coast.

Here, you'll find
local fishing boats

and the heart of
Venezuela's oil industry.

The wealth from the earth here

once made Venezuela rich,

but now it's a rundown
reminder of better times.

This is where oil
was first discovered

in the country a century ago.

You can see the oil
right here on the surface.

You can even touch it.

If Donald Trump is really going
to make Venezuela great again,

as he says, this is where
the impact will be felt first.

Decades of mismanagement,
underinvestment and sanctions

have left the oil sector crumbling,

and pollution is affecting one
of the last remaining industries.

Every year, fisherman Carlos

is pulling fewer fish
from these contaminated waters.

Despite the removal of his
president by Donald Trump,

he is ready for American investment

and the oil to start flowing once
more.

Venezuela holds an estimated
303 billion barrels

of proven oil reserves,

the largest in the world.

Supporters of Chavismo,
like Jose Luzardo

view Donald Trump's
approach with suspicion.

In the mid-20th century, Maracaibo
was a symbol of the great wealth

of the oil boom.

International oil companies

built whole neighbourhoods
for the workers.

Today, many of those
homes stand empty.

But oil did more than
power Venezuela's economy,

it helped shaped its identity.

SPEAKING SPANISH

In one of those homes,
we met Jose Gregorio Martinez,

who still hasn't lost hope of
seeing the good times return.

Maracaibo lives a contradiction.

Despite the region's potential,
the city has suffered

a severe energy crisis
during the Chavista era.

Many trace the industry's
collapsed to 2002,

when strikes against Hugo Chavez

led to major reforms at PDVSA.

Chavez, who took power in 1999,

responded by dismissing
thousands of workers.

Jorge, not his real name, was one of
the workers dismissed at the time.

He doesn't want to have
his face and name disclosed,

for fear of retaliation by
the Venezuelan government.

Chavismo acknowledges corruption
cases that hurt the industry,

but mainly blames the economic
sanctions

imposed by the United States

during Nicolas Maduro's
administration for the decline.

Juan Romero, a member
of parliament representing Zulia

and a local leader of
the ruling PSUV party,

says foreign investment is key to
the industry's revival.

Economic recovery seems to be
a priority for everyone here.

There are also calls for democracy,

free elections and reparations

for victims of human rights abuses

though, for now, not many
dare to mention this openly.

Thanks for joining me in Caracas.

We want your feedback on Global Eye.

Let us know what you
think on social media

using the hashtag #bbcglobaleye

Next week, we'll be reporting
from Australia.

Goodbye.