(IPYS/IFEX) – On 21 July 2004, two military security officials forced a team of Globovisión television station reporters to erase footage taken outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. The television news crew, comprised of Mayela León, camera operator Richard Casanova and his assistant Jackson Vodopija, were filming for a segment about the rescheduling of […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 21 July 2004, two military security officials forced a team of Globovisión television station reporters to erase footage taken outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas.
The television news crew, comprised of Mayela León, camera operator Richard Casanova and his assistant Jackson Vodopija, were filming for a segment about the rescheduling of a meeting between President Hugo Chávez and United Nations advisor Diego Cordovez when two officers with the palace’s Casa Militar security force interrupted them.
“I was about to do a commentary on camera when a Casa Militar official told us that we could not film there for security reasons,” León told IPYS. The journalist said the crew immediately shut off the camera, after only six seconds of filming. However, another military guard approached them and told them they would have to turn over the videotape to have its contents verified.
León told the officers the crew had not yet filmed the segment and that they would not turn over the tape without the presence of the television station’s legal representatives. She also reminded the soldiers that protective measures had been ordered for Globovisión, to prevent any infringement of the station’s rights. The guards insisted, however, and took Casanova to a security office inside the palace where they reviewed and then erased the footage before returning the tape. Before leaving, Casanova signed a statement declaring that the officers had not been aggressive in their dealings with him and that he was treated well during his time in the palace.
While León and Vodopija were waiting outside, reporters from other media outlets arrived at the site. A group of individuals also appeared and began to shout threats at the journalists, forcing them to leave and go to a nearby police station.
Globovisión’s legal representative, Perla Jaime, later came to the palace and spoke with the head of the Casa Militar Guard, General José Mata. Mata told Jaime that only those who have requested permission can film in the area around the palace since it is a security zone. He also said that the review of the videotape was a routine procedure.
