Venezuela investigates media over campaign for private property

Venezuela to remove broadcast license from 240 radio stations

Politics
The National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel) announced on Friday that it will open punitive administrative proceedings to all the media that have broadcasted advertisements advocating private property. Conatel also issued a precautionary measure that prohibits radio and TV stations to broadcast such advertisements.

Diosdado Cabello, the Minister of Public Works and director of Conatel, said that the decision was due to the fact that the spots, which are produced by two different organizations: Asoesfuerzo and the Center for Dissemination of Economic Knowledge (Cedice) "make people think that there is a threat in this area." According to Minister Cabello, this would be misleading advertisement. Cabello added that the spots do not specify the way these threats would work.

He stressed said that a TV station received USD 1.39 million for the advertising spaces and broadcasted 53 spots in the same day.

The director of Conatel said that he requested the Attorney General Office to open an investigation against Asoesfuerzo and Cedice, considering that there could be a money-laundering crime, since the origin of the funds used to pay the ads is unknown.

Quick Access to:

On the Cover

Domestic inflation stands at 1.7 percent

01:11 PM. Economy.
Domestic inflation rate in Venezuela was 1.7 percent in January, at the same rate as in December 2009, despite currency devaluation at the start of the year decreed by President Hugo Chávez, a senior government source told Reuters on Tuesday.