Laura Raffo endorses RT's Russian propaganda and opens the door to Putin's nefarious influence in Uruguay

In an episode that bordered on absurdity, the director of Antel for the Multicolor Coalition, Laura Raffo —designated precisely as political director representing the National Party—, voted to reinstate the signal of the Russian channel RT (formerly Russia Today) to the Antel TV grid. He did this hand in hand with the directors of the Broad Front, in a decision that the Board of Directors unanimously approved this week. His argument, textual and disconcerting: “I didn't evaluate it as

something political”.

A political director who doesn't evaluate something as political? Cynicism is enormous. Raffo, an economist with experience in the private sector and a visible figure in central Uruguay, decided to ignore the geopolitical, historical and moral context to justify a media outlet financed directly by the Kremlin to re-broadcast in the country's main state telecommunications company

.

Let's

remember the facts. In March 2022, under the government of Luis Lacalle Pou, Antel withdrew the RT signal from Vera TV because it was “a channel at the service of propaganda and justification of Russia's violent military invasion of Ukraine”. That decision was consistent with the Uruguayan position, which condemned Russian aggression in international forums. Now, in 2026, with a Coalition that supposedly defends democracy and Western values, that measure is reversed without the slightest

flush.

RT is not a news channel. It is an instrument of hybrid warfare by the Vladimir Putin regime. Financed entirely by the Russian budget, with hundreds of millions of dollars annually, it operates as a global disinformation mega-machine. Its journalists and presenters repeat like parrots the Kremlin narrative: the invasion of Ukraine is a “special military operation”, Ukrainians are “Nazis” who deserve to be bombed, and the massacres of civilians in Bucha, Mariupol or Irpin are “montages” of the West. RT openly defends the legacy of the USSR, glorifies Stalin and justifies the systematic murder of Ukrainian civilians as “collateral damage” necessary to “denazify” a sovereign country. It's not opinion: it's state propaganda, identical to what Soviet Pravda used. That's why it was banned in the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom after the 2022 invasion. Organizations such as the EU classified it as a “security threat” because of its role in spreading lies that incite hatred and destabilize democracies

.

Russian influence is not limited to one TV channel. It is part of Putin's global strategy to divide and weaken the West, raising doubts about NATO. At the same time, it legitimizes authoritarianism by normalizing a regime that invades neighbors, murders opponents and uses energy as a weapon, thus eroding the moral condemnation of aggression. Allowing a Russian state media outlet to broadcast on a Uruguayan public platform is equivalent to giving space to a foreign power in a strategic sector such as telecommunications

.

Antel is not a private company; it is owned by the Uruguayan State. What message does allowing the propaganda of an invader to reach Uruguayan homes on state TV send to the world? In addition, Russia is allied with regimes such as China, Iran and North Korea. Its media influence goes hand in hand with cyberattacks, espionage and economic pressure. Uruguay, a small and vulnerable country, cannot afford to be complacent with this threat

.

The most serious thing is that this decision does not come from the Broad Front, whose directors, faithful to their pro-Russian and anti-Western tradition, always called for the return of RT. It comes from a director of the Multicolor Coalition. Raffo, who arrived in Antel in May 2025 with speeches about “efficiency” and “taking care of public money”, now prioritizes “it's not political” over reality: a war that has already left hundreds of thousands dead, systematic violations

and wide-scale destruction.

This unanimous decision of the Board of Directors erases at the stroke of a stroke the clear position that Uruguay took in 2022. It is equivalent to saying that an aggressor's propaganda is “just one more channel”. It's dangerous moral relativism. While Putin is bombing Ukrainian cities and threatening nuclear weapons, in Montevideo he is being given a free platform on Uruguayans' TV

.

Uruguay deserves a modern, efficient Antel aligned with the democratic values defended by the Coalition. Not one that becomes a speaker for the Kremlin. Laura Raffo and the Board of Directors must publicly explain why they considered it “non-political” to legitimate an environment that justifies war crimes. Uruguayans who vote to defend freedom and reject totalitarianism have the

right to an answer.

Russian influence is not neutral. It's toxic. And allowing it in Antel is a strategic mistake that weakens Uruguay vis-a-vis the world. It's time to rectify.