Adolfo Superlano, the host of a radio programme that denounces corruption, has requested protective measures, saying he feels he may be attacked by Barinas government personnel.
(IPYS- Venezuela/IFEX) – On 5 March 2012, Adolfo Superlano, a radio announcer for Barinesa 92.7 FM, filed a request for protective measures with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, saying he feels threatened and believes he may be physically attacked by officials from the regional government in Barinas, in southwestern Venezuela.
Superlano told an IPYS-Venezuela correspondent in Barinas that, during a broadcast of his programme, more than 80 officials from the Department of Military Intelligence (DIM) showed up at the radio station dressed in civilian clothing. In addition, some members of the group known as Los Motilones, led by the government secretary general, Antonio Albarran, also went to the station with an apparent objective of attacking him, which was not possible because Superlano had been forewarned and had decided to broadcast the programme by phone from the city of Barinas.
Superlano said the director of Barinesa 92.7 FM, Jesus Mora, was threatened by the officials who showed up at the radio station and the station owners have been pressured to stop broadcasting the programme, which denounces acts of corruption and other issues of a sensitive nature.
Superlano said his programme has been on air for four years and has high listener ratings, which has led the regional government to target it. In 2010 a similar situation happened when Narciso Chávez, brother of the President of Venezuela, threatened to have the radio station closed.
