VZCZCXRO7602
PP RUEHAO RUEHCD RUEHGA RUEHGD RUEHHA RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL
RUEHQU RUEHRD RUEHRG RUEHRS RUEHTM RUEHVC
DE RUEHCV #0751 1512113
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 302113Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1204
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000751 
 
SIPDIS 
 
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
DEPT FOR AID/OTI (RPORTER) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/30/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SCUL VE
SUBJECT: INFORMATION MINISTER OFFERS RESIGNATION AFTER 
MISSTEPS WITH BRV TELEVISION 
 
REF: A. CARACAS 000679 
     ¶B. CARACAS 000453 
     ¶C. CARACAS 000172 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT DOWNES, 
REASON 1.4 (D) 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary.  Andres Izarra, BRV Information Minister, 
offered to resign May 28 following a startling announcement 
by the ministry that the BRV would begin to impose fees on 
the retransmission of state-owned Venezolana de Television's 
(VTV) signal.  Izarra claimed responsibility for the 
ill-conceived initiative, saying he failed to consult with 
President Chavez.  The initiative was retracted on May 29. 
This move was likely targeted at opposition media outlets 
whose cameras are often not granted access to government 
events or officials.  It remains unclear if Chavez will 
accept Izarra's resignation or if the entire imbroglio was 
aimed at eclipsing coverage of the one-year anniversary of 
Radio Caracas Television's (RCTV) closure.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------- 
IZARRA OFFERS RESIGNATION 
------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) BRV Minister of Information and Communication Andres 
Izarra offered to resign on May 28.  The announcement came 
one day after a communique from the director of state-owned 
VTV requiring private Venezuelan media outlets to pay a fee 
of 120 BsF. per second to retransmit VTV television signals. 
The fee, equivalent to 432,000 BsF. per hour or more than 
200,000 USD per hour, would take effect June 1. 
 
¶3.  (C)  The immediate reaction to the proposed measure was 
uniformly negative.  For example, Alberto Federico Ravell, 
director of opposition-oriented television network 
Globovision, the twenty-four hour news network and CNN 
equivalent, stated publicly that his station would not "pay a 
single Bolivar" for VTV's signal.  The day after the VTV 
measure was announced, Izarra offered his resignation to 
Chavez in a brief public statement at Miraflores Presidential 
Palace.  Izarra, generally viewed as one of Chavez' more 
competent administrators, claimed the decision to charge for 
the right to rebroadcast VTV's signal was his initiative, 
made without consulting Chavez or any other member of the 
Executive.  VTV's director officially retracted the measure 
on May 29, citing instructions from the Ministry of 
Communications.  It remains unclear if Chavez will accept 
Izarra's offer to resign. 
 
¶4.  (C)  The VTV measure, though directed at all private 
media outlets, was widely believed to be aimed at 
Globovision's "You Saw it Here" (Usted lo Vio) segments which 
rebroadcast the more outlandish statements by BRV officials. 
These spots typically include VTV footage, as Globovision and 
other private media outlets have long been banned from 
covering official events. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5.  (C)  The ill-conceived VTV measure, if implemented, would 
likely have curtailed any coverage of BRV officials by 
Venezuela's most widely watched television channels.  There 
is some media speculation that Izarra may have been out in 
front of the rest of the government - more Chavista than 
Chavez - and he may have been quickly reprimanded for acting 
independently.  Embassy PAS contacts have commented that the 
VTV measure and subsequent Izarra resignation have diverted 
attention away from the one year anniversary of RCTV's 
closure. 
 
DUDDY