by Javier Manjarres

The Spanish television network Univision is apparently still carrying its grudge against Senator Marco Rubio, as new information regarding the inner dealings and reasons of why the the network ran a very questionable feature story on Rubio’s brother-in-law that was jailed on drug charges when Rubio was a 16 year old scratch-face kid at the time of the incident.   The Shark Tank was all over this egregious case of yellow journalism back in July of 2011 (see “Univision Puts a Hit on Senator ‘Scarface’ Rubio”).

We commented at the time:

Actually, there is a rumor circulating in media circles that Cesar Conde, Univision’s President, has his sights set on a career in politics and has no qualms about taking Rubio down a notch or two in order to puff up his own political profile.  But perhaps the real reason for Univision’s silly dumpster diving non-story is because of the fact that Rubio has thus far refused to entertain interview requests from their network.  Univision has long been a supporter of illegal immigration on their nationally-televised programs like ‘Al Punto’ with Jorge Ramos, and they have always taken issue with anyone that is against amnesty for illegal immigrants- especially if they are Hispanic like Rubio.

take our poll - story continues below

Do you think the 2nd Amendment will be destroyed by the Biden Administration?(2)

• Do you think the 2nd Amendment will be destroyed by the Biden Administration?  

• Do you think the 2nd Amendment will be destroyed by the Biden Administration?*
  • Yes.
  • Yes, but only parts.
  • Not a chance.
• Email*
• Email
  This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Completing this poll grants you access to Shark Tank updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

The folks at Univision and their Democrat sympathizers are trying their hardest to frame Rubio as being ‘anti-hispanic’, their cuddly way of telling their audience that Rubio is really a self-loathing Senator with an identity crisis.  As Rubio’s national profile continues to grow in stature, he can expect more of this type of nonsense- the left and their media acolytes are desperate to take the shine off Rubio’s star knowing full well that he has the ability to effectively communicate the truth about the Democrat agenda to Hispanics in a way that returns the Democrat Party to permanent minority status in this country.

Even though Rubio has made himself available to Univision’s affiliate TV stations in the past, and with the amount of media requests his office receives everyday, Rubio will never be able to entertain all of them. But after Univision’s little hit piece, I’m guessing Rubio probably won’t be returning Univision’s calls anytime soon- I don’t come off no banana boat, ok?”

According to the Herald, if Rubio appeared on Al Punto —Univision’s national television show where the topic of immigration would likely be discussed — then the story of his brother-in-law’s troubles would be softened or might not run at all, according to Univision insiders and the Republican senator’s staff.  They say the offer was made by Univision’s President of News, Isaac Lee.

But Lee said in an email to The Miami Herald that any insinuation that he offered a quid pro quo was “incorrect” and “defamatory.”

In a written statement Friday, Lee said: “With respect to Senator Rubio, Univision covered the story in the same objective, fair manner we cover every significant story. Univision did not offer to soften or spike a story…we would not make such an offer to any other subject of a news story and did not offer it in this case.”

Rubio never appeared on Al Punto, a national political affairs program broadcast on Sundays.  Univision aired the story about Rubio’s brother-in-law, a lower-level player in a 1987 coke-and-pot ring, on July 11.

“I always knew Univision to be a professional organization until this happened,” said Rubio, who won’t comment specifically on the case. –See Miami-Herald

It’s hard to believe at this point, but Rubio was a paid consultant/commentator for Univision prior to jumping into the U.S. Senate race in 2010, so one might think that Rubio had already established a friendly relationship with the network, and Univision’s hierarchy would never have considered running the non-news story up in the first place.  Another point to consider is that this story was already circulating amongst other media outlets- even the Charlie Crist campaign knew of the story, but they all were in agreement that the story was both irrelevant and non-newsworthy.

The only other organization that ran with this story were our “favorite” Democrats in Republican clothing, Somos Republicans.  Somos Republicans have been exposed as a front group for liberals whose real agenda is to promote amnesty for illegal immigrants and slime Republicans who oppose amnesty.  It’s clear that Univision put out the piece on Rubio simply to spite him for refusing to do an interview- a textbook example of compromised, payback journalism.

Why would Univision, or any other network for that matter want to alienate a likeable and influential politico who could potentially be the VEEP of the United States?  Normally, a constructive dialogue would take place behind the scenes if issues come up between a media outlet and a potential guest- after all, it’s the guests of a show that are the ratings drivers.  But instead of addressing their issues with Rubio’s staff and resolving them discreetly, they opted to poison the water which lost them the opportunity to land the interview they were seeking.

Rubio ultimately selected Univision’s rival Telemundo for his first Spanish-language interview.