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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000546 
 
SIPDIS 
 
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2029 
TAGS: PHUM GOV PREL VE
SUBJECT: PRESS FREEDOM UPDATE - APRIL 2009 
 
REF: A. CARACAS 539 
     ¶B. CARACAS 378 
     ¶C. CARACAS 099 
 
CARACAS 00000546  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: A/POLITICAL COUNSELOR DANIEL LAWTON, 
REASON 1.4 (D) 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary:  The Government of the Bolivaran Republic 
of Venezuela (GBRV) continued to put pressure on the 
independent media during April.  President Chavez used the 
occasion of the anniversary of the April 2002 failed military 
coup to lambaste both the United States and 
opposition-oriented media, renewing his now routine threats 
to sanction networks that do not support him.  Government 
supporters are focusing their complaints on independent cable 
news broadcaster Globovision.  The Caracas chapter of the 
National Journalist Association is redoubling its efforts to 
defend press freedom.  As Chavez radicalizes his Bolivarian 
revolution, the GBRV is likely to continue to threaten and 
sanction selected journalists and media outlets.  Local 
pundits are split as to whether the GBRV will move to close 
Globovision.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
CHAVEZ URGES SANCTIONS FOR TV NETWORKS 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  The GBRV marked the seventh anniversary of the 
failed 2002 military coup against Chavez April 11 by taking 
the opportunity to publicly blame the United States and 
opposition media for planning the coup.  In his April 12 
newspaper column, Chavez compared his return to power to the 
resurrection of Christ and wrote that the intellectual 
authors of the coup "who worked in harmony with officials of 
the U.S. Embassy" had not been brought to justice.  The 
column also blamed opposition media for being an active part 
of the coup.  A documentary about the day, broadcast on 
pro-government channels, claims that a phone call from then 
US Ambassador Shapiro to then Police Commissioner Lazaro 
Forero proves U.S. involvement in the coup.  The documentary 
also accused the privately owned TV network Venevision of 
being part of the coup. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  On April 13, President Chavez publicly urged 
authorities to impose sanctions on Venezuelan television 
networks for allegedly backing the failed 2002 coup against 
him. Chavez has long accused Venevision, Globovision, RCTV 
and Televen of supporting the short-lived coup attempt by 
broadcasting cartoons and movies instead of the pro-Chavez 
street protests that aided his return to power.  During a 
speech to his supporters in Caracas, Chavez said, "Nobody has 
touched them.  Sanctions must be imposed." 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  In reaction, Globovision legal consultant Ana 
Cristina Nunez told the local media, "The President is 
completely criminalizing the free exercise of freedom of 
expression."  President of the National Journalist 
Association (CNP) William Echeverria replied to Chavez's 
threats during an April 15 radio program by saying, "It is 
evident that we are in an escalation, the Head of State 
(Chavez) is cornering us... The Government has mechanisms of 
indirect censorship and freedom of expression is strongly 
being threatened." 
 
--------------------------- 
GLOBOVISION IN THE HOT SEAT 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU)   During a March 31 hearing of the Permanent 
Committee on Science, Technology and Social Media in the 
National Assembly, pro-Chavez deputy Ricardo Capella proposed 
that an advisory referendum be held (in the undefined future) 
to determine the destiny of opposition oriented Globovision 
television.  Criticizng the work of one Globovision 
journalist Beatriz Adrian, Capella said, "The conduct of this 
journalist is part of a destabilization plan directed by 
Globovision."  On the same day the president of the 
committee, Manuel Villala, accused Globovision of "attacking 
the administration of Hugo Chavez."  The GBRV has not yet 
announced any referendum on Globovision's future, however. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  The violent pro-Chavez group, "La Piedrita," 
published on its web-site a threat against Globovision by 
officially referring to the station and its sponsors as 
"military objectives" who have "betrayed the nation and are 
selling their soul to the devil and negotiating with 
Globovision."  Among those specifically threatened by the 
 
CARACAS 00000546  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
April 22 posting was Leopoldo Castillo, anchor and host of 
the opposition-oriented Globovision interview program "Alo, 
Ciudadano" ("Hello Citizen"). 
 
-------------------------------------- 
GBRV CLAMPS DOWN ON "ONE OF THEIR OWN" 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C)  Pro-government businessman Ramirez Saavedra, (owner 
of Radio Color 99.5 FM and Color TV), was arrested April 7 on 
corruption charges.  Ramirez Saavedra is the founder and 
former National Vice-President of Telecommunications of the 
Socialist Confederation of Businessmen.  The GBRV accuses him 
of misappropriating medical equipment allegedly belonging to 
Aragua State.  The arrest of Saavedra, the former President 
of the Radio Chamber of Aragua, probably has more to do with 
his differences with new Aragua Governor Mario Isea and his 
rumored ties to former Aragua Governor Didalco Bolivar. 
Bolivar is a leader in the Podemos party, which fell out with 
Chavez in 2007. 
 
--------------------------- 
CNP CALLS EMERGENCY SESSION 
--------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  The Caracas section of the National Journalist 
Association (CNP) held an emergency session April 23 to 
discuss the multitude of threats against democracy and 
freedom of expression in Venezuela.  President of the CNP 
William Echeverria told the media, "Journalist aren't 
politicians, we don't belong to any party, and we are 
citizens with rights and duties.  It is our duty to defend 
the values and principles of the democratic system, the 
freedom of expression, and the right to information before 
the attack of the Government to drain the spaces of 
dissidence."  During the session, the assembly agreed to form 
a common front to address threats, participate in 
opposition-led demonstrations on May 1, and create an 
alliance between CNP and the pro-democracy student movement. 
 
 
-------------------------- 
TEODORO PETKOFF UNDER FIRE 
-------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (C)  The National Assembly (AN) opened a case April 27 to 
investigate Teodoro Petkoff, editor of the opposition daily 
Tal Cual (Ref A).  PSUV AN Deputy Iris Varela accused Petkoff 
of committing fraud and document forgery by using his 
deceased mother's name to conduct commercial and real estate 
transactions.  In addition the AN opened a second 
investigation against Petkoff on April 29 accusing him of 
violating national security by allegedly exchanging e-mails 
with the Colombian Defense Minister on the status of 
bilateral negotiations over the demarcation of territorial 
waters in the Venezuelan Gulf.  Minister of Communication 
Blanca Eckhout announced the same day that Venezuela's Media 
should simply be "an instrument to gain understanding and 
deepen democracy" rather than "impeding true communication 
with the people."  She suggested that Venezuela has suffered 
"excessive and irresponsible media power" and that the media 
should be "regulated by the people." (Ref A). 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10.  (C)  President Chavez has been radicalizing his 
Bolivarian revolution since his February 15 referendum 
victory ending term limits, and the GBRV is likely to 
continue to to threaten and sanction selected journalists and 
media outlets.  Local pundits are split on whether the GBRV 
will move to close Globovision in the near term.  The GBRV 
has the authority to do so and appears to be building its 
"legal" case against the station.  However, the GBRV paid a 
political price domestically and internationally after it 
closed RCTV in 2007.  Moreover, Globovision does not have 
anything close to the reach, audience, or influence that RCTV 
had, so the GBRV may find it more politically convenient to 
complain about -- but not to shutter -- the opposition cable 
news broadcaster.  Another GBRV option would be to not renew 
Globovision's broadcasting license after it expires sometime 
around 2012. 
 
CAULFIELD