The owner of a Venezuelan TV channel that takes a hard line against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been arrested for remarks authorities deemed offensive, sending a powerful signal to government opponents that they should watch their words.
Opposition leaders and human rights groups condemned Thursday’s arrest of Guillermo Zuloaga, the owner of Globovision, who was detained on a warrant by military intelligence agents and released hours later after appearing in court. Critics called the case a major setback for freedom of speech, saying it shows the government is growing increasingly intolerant and authoritarian as its popular support has slipped.
Zuloaga was detained while authorities investigate his “offensive” remarks against the president at an Inter American Press Association meeting in Aruba, Attorney General Luisa Ortega said. Zuloaga had joined other media executives at the forum last weekend in criticizing Chavez’s government for limiting free speech and cracking down on critics.
The Attorney General’s Office said in a statement that prosecutors are investigating Zuloaga for violating a law prohibiting Venezuelans from spreading “false information through any medium,” including newspapers, radio, television, e-mails or leaflets, “that cause public panic.”
Zuloaga, Globovision’s majority shareholder, could face a five-year prison sentence if convicted, the statement said. He was released on Thursday night after a judge issued an order preventing him from leaving the country while prosecutors proceed with their investigation.
Zuloaga said agents detained him at an airport in the northwestern state of Falcon as he was preparing to fly his private plane with his wife to the Caribbean island of Bonaire, where they planned to vacation.
His arrest could be a decisive development in Chavez’s drive to rein in a channel he has accused of trying to undermine his government. Globovision has been the only stridently anti-Chavez channel on the air since another opposition-aligned channel, RCTV, was forced off cable and satellite TV in January. RCTV was booted off the open airwaves in 2007.
Chavez said late on Thursday, without mentioning Zuloaga’s name, that he is pleased to see justice functioning in Venezuela.
“I respect the autonomy of the branches of government, but I applaud ... the end of impunity,” Chavez told reporters before leaving on a trip to Ecuador. “Whoever breaks the law has to respond before the authorities ... Who can criticize that?”
Pro-Chavez lawmaker Manuel Villalba urged prosecutors on Wednesday to investigate Zuloaga for allegedly saying Venezuela’s government is cracking down on critics and purportedly commenting that it was a shame a short-lived 2002 coup against Chavez failed.
Zuloaga said what he did was simply “relate some historical events,” insisting he did nothing wrong and that all Venezuelans have a right to say what they think about public figures such as presidents.
“I have a right to give opinions,” Zuloaga said after his release, speaking at Globovision’s studios while employees applauded and cheered.
He called the accusations “ridiculous” and denied he had been planning to flee the country.
Arresting Zuloaga shows Chavez’s government is “acting like a totalitarian government, like Cuba,” said Alejandro Aguirre, president of the Miami-based Inter American Press Association, which has clashed with Chavez for years on free-speech issues.
Zuloaga’s arrest also came three days after opposition politician Oswaldo Alvarez Paz was detained for remarks made on a Globovision talk show on March 8.
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