Instituto Prensa y Sociedad de Venezuela

Journalist Alonso Moleiro received threatening tweets from another Twitter user after he commented on an announcement that President Hugo Chávez had undergone surgery in Cuba.

On October 11, 2012 anonymous threats were issued by phone, to Luis Alfonso Cabezas, director of Convite. Convite is a Caracas-based civil association that works for the promotion and defense of health in Venezuela. The human-rights activist told IPYS-Venezuela that he received threats in the wake of the publication of a piece by El Nacional newspaper on October 7, 2012, entitled “Free and suitable hospital care is not guaranteed”.

On Thursday 1 November at 5:00 a.m. a group of men fired gunshots against the office of El Regional del Zulia newspaper located in the city of Maracaibo.

Ginette González, journalist and radio announcer for Unión Radio, a privately-owned radio network, reported that she was laid off from the show “Juntos pero no revueltos” that she hosted with Martín Pacheco. She said she was told the decision was made because the station needed to retain State-funded official advertising.

On August 29, 2012 the Electoral Council of Venezuela announced the suspension of a TV spot produced by Voluntad Popular, an opposition-aligned political party. Tibisay Lucena, president of the CNE, said that the decision is the beginning of an administrative procedure, as the video conveys a message of violence.

As trial proceeds, over forty IFEX members urge the Cambodian government to drop charges facing detained rights defender and broadcaster Mam Sonando.

Dr. Oswaldo Godoy had told the paper that the hospital has limited operational capacity because of renovation projects that have been taking place for several years.

The attack happened when, according to witnesses, three men riding motorbikes threw an explosive device at a truck used by one of the paper’s news crews as it was parked in front of the paper’s main office.