Venezuela

(IPYS/IFEX) – On 3 July 2001, Caracas Judge 14 María Cristina Reveron issued an order for the arrest of journalist Pablo Lopez Ulacio, editor and owner of the weekly “La Razon”. The judge ordered that the journalist be imprisoned at the Metropolitan Police headquarters, located in Sucre Municipality of the Caracas Metropolitan District, until he […]

(IPYS/IFEX) – “Any foreigner who comes here to insult this country, the government or the president will be expelled. I have given instructions to this effect from this day forward,” stated President Hugo Chávez on 10 June 2001. The president was speaking during an event attended by foreign investors, held in the offices of the […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 21 June 2001 letter to President Hugo Chávez Frías, CPJ is alarmed by the Venezuelan Supreme Court’s recent decision establishing criteria for “timely, truthful, and impartial information” and specifying how this right may be exercised. The right to “truthful information” was included in Venezuela’s 1999 Constitution despite strong domestic and international […]

(IPYS/IFEX) – “I am gathering information on the taxes that some media businessmen declare because there are making a ton of money and reporting losses and I am going to turn to the respective courts in order to do justice,” said President Hugo Chávez during a Venezuelan Communist Party public event, which was held on […]

(IPYS/IFEX) – The government attorney’s office, guarantor of the rule of law according to the Venezuelan Constitution, will participate in an investigation into the fire at the daily “La Opinion” in Cojedes State, 300 kilometres southwest of Caracas, which occurred during the last week in May 2001. Similarly, the legislature represented by the National Assembly […]

(FIP/IFEX) – FIP coordinator Gregorio Salazar expressed the organisation’s concern over repeated verbal attacks by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez against some of the most important Venezuelan newspapers. Chávez has severly challenged the press, especially the daily “El Nacional” for publishing information related to the confiscation of explosive materials at the Maiquetia Airport, one day before […]

(IPYS/IFEX) – Journalist Fernando Silva, host of the radio programme Responda, Mundial pregunta, which was taken off the air on 18 May 2001 following “orders from above”, denounced the fact that in “Venezuela we are facing a policy of gagging the media and controversial programmes.” Silva made this statement during a press conference held in […]

(IPYS/IFEX) – The community radio programme Responda, Mundial pregunta, which was broadcast daily on the state run radio station YVKE Mundial, was suspended on 18 May 2001. The reasons for the programme being taken off the air were not given. Fernando Silva, journalist and host of the radio programme that aired every night at 6:00 […]

(IPYS/IFEX) – The “extraordinary measures” announced during the first week of May 2001 by President Hugo Chávez Frías have generated a great deal of concern among Venezuelan institutions and individuals. On 8 May, Venezuela’s legal representative before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Hernán Escarrá, noted that this initiative could well include a state of […]

(IPYS/IFEX) – In the middle of May 2001, President Hugo Chávez Frías called communications professionals “pirates” for their publication of information and opinions that were critical of his actions. This latest incident is part of the ongoing confrontation that the government – headed by Commander Chávez – has been having with the media. While at […]

(IPYS/IFEX) – Following a proposal submitted by Member of Parliament (MP) for the governing party Juan Barreto, who is also vice-president of the Science and Technology Commission, the Venezuelan National Assembly will debate a law that would regulate the exercise of the journalistic profession. The proposed legislation, known as the law regulating ethics for social […]

(IPYS/IFEX) – In a press release, the Caracas press has expressed its support for Venezuelan journalist Adriana Cortés. The Colombian television programme Noticias RCN Television had reported that Colombian security forces had reason to believe that Cortés was acting in complicity with a member of a guerrilla group, detained during the second week of March […]

(IPYS/IFEX) – Once again, while speaking on his regular programme broadcast by radio and television on Thursday nights, President of the Republic of Venezuela Hugo Chávez Frías spent more than twenty minutes attacking the editor of “El Universal”, Andrés Mata Osorio. The president called Mata Osorio a fraud and a spokesperson for international interests. The […]

(IPYS/IFEX) – More than one month has passed since 8 February 2001, when the Organization of American States’ (OAS) Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) noted that due process had not been followed in the case of Venezuelan journalist Pablo Lopez Ulacio, editor of the weekly “La Razon”, and urged the Venezuelan government to ensure […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a CPJ press release: CPJ Special Briefing On Venezuela: President Chávez Delivers An Earful But Is Press Freedom Being Drowned Out? New York, March 1, 2001 — Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez Frías gives new meaning to the term “radio frequency,” according to a special briefing released today by the Committee […]

(SPJ/IFEX) – The following is one of twelve SPJ resolutions passed by delegates to the SPJ National Convention on 28 October 2000, during the main business session of the convention: Resolution #7 Venezuela WHEREAS the government of President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela has contributed to a climate of hostility toward the independent news media, and […]