The Venezuelan government issued Presidential Directive No. 01 to establish new rules for how ministers, directors, and other executive branch officials relate to the media. ^[1] The Venezuelan government announced on 2026-06-25 that it will appeal a recent judicial decision regarding aerial operations against illegal armed groups. ^[2] Presidential Directive No. 01 mandates that all executive officials must consult and coordinate their media participation with the Presidency's Communications and Press Secretariat prior to granting interviews or delivering statements. ^[3] The directive explicitly prohibits the use of personal social media accounts by officials to announce government decisions, policies, figures, or administration results. ^[4] The directive states that this coordination measure is intended to ensure that messages from different entities maintain consistency with the Casa de Nariño and deliver precise, complete, coherent, and verified information. ^[5] Interior Minister Rodrigo Lara stated that the judicial standard requiring 'certain, objective, or reasonably verifiable' information about the presence of recruited minors is too broad and could hinder military operations. ^[6] Rodrigo Lara criticized the ruling as 'absurd and unconstitutional' because armed groups might use the presence of recruited minors as a strategy to prevent military operations in specific territories. ^[7] The government maintains that protecting minors is a priority but argues that clear operational criteria are necessary to act against groups responsible for recruiting them. ^[8]