Monthly Archives: July 2010

Jul
30
2010
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No holds barred in Venezuela opposition channel’s criticism of Chavez

This article was originally posted by The LA Times

The channel’s newsreaders and reporters — who make no pretense of impartiality and are undeterred by harassment and threats of a takeover — regularly blast the president with slanted coverage

Reporting from Caracas, Venezuela, and Bogota, — From the time it goes on the air until it signs off, Globovision lets Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have it with both barrels.

The Caracas-based opposition news and opinion channel’s newsreaders and reporters — who make no pretense of impartiality and remain undeterred by harassment and threats of a takeover — regularly blast the president with obviously slanted coverage while giving opposition politicians free and usually unchallenged rein to vent.

“We think Hugo Chavez should be investigated for treason,” opposition leader Pablo Medina said calmly last week during a television interview as he discussed the president’s close ties to Cuba and his handling of a scandal involving imported food that rotted in scores of misplaced shipping containers.

Later that day, accusations of witchcraft came up in discussions of Chavez’s controversial decision to open the crypt of founding father Simon Bolivar, which psychologist Mercedes Pulido described as a “pornographic spectacle.” Globovision reporters called the scene ghoulish and sacrilegious.

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Jul
30
2010
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Colombia proves again that Venezuela is harboring FARC terrorists

This article was originally posted bye The Washington Post

COLOMBIA’S PRESENTATION to the Organization of American States about Venezuela’s hosting of the FARC terrorist movement prompted a flurry of speculation about the motives of Álvaro Uribe, Colombia’s outgoing president. Why, it was asked, did he want to end his eight years in office in another confrontation with Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez? Could he be trying to sabotage his successor, Juan Manuel Santos, who is due to take office on Aug. 7?

Allow us to offer a simple explanation: Mr. Uribe, who has devoted his presidency to rescuing Colombia from armed gangs of both the left and the right, is deeply frustrated by Venezuela’s continuing support for the FARC — and by the failure of the international community to hold Mr. Chávez accountable for it. Before leaving office, Mr. Uribe felt compelled to make one more effort to call attention to a problem that, were it occurring in the Middle East, would surely be before the U.N. Security Council.

That Venezuela is backing a terrorist movement against a neighboring democratic government has been beyond dispute since at least 2008, when Colombia recovered laptops from a FARC camp in Ecuador containing extensive documentation of Mr. Chávez’s political and material support. Colombia’s presentation to the OAS last week contained fresher and more detailed intelligence. Ambassador Luis Alfonso Hoyos supplied precise map coordinates for several of the 75 FARC camps that he said had been established on Venezuelan territory and that harbor some 1,500 militants. He showed photos and videos, including one of a top commander from another Colombian terrorist organization, ELN, sipping Venezuelan beer on a popular Venezuelan beach.

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Jul
29
2010
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Venezuela seizes anti-Chavez TV owner’s ranch

This article was originally posted by The Canadian Press

CARACAS, Venezuela –An attorney representing the owner of a television channel critical of President Hugo Chavez says officials, accompanied by National Guard troops, have seized control of her client’s ranch.

Lawyer Perla Jaimes argues the takeover of the ranch belonging to Guillermo Zuloaga is part of a vendetta aimed at destroying a government opponent. Zuloaga’s Globovision TV is the only station in Venezuela that remains highly critical of Chavez.

Jaimes called Thursday’s takeover illegal, arguing it violated property rights.

Zuloaga, who owns several car dealerships, is facing charges of usury for keeping new vehicles stored at a home. Investigators allege Zuloaga was waiting for prices to rise, which is punishable under Venezuelan law.