Chávez Raising Pressure On Defiant TV Network

In recent weeks, officials in Venezuela -- where the government controls a media apparatus devoted to glowing coverage of the president -- have appeared increasingly obsessed with Globovisión, a 24-hour, all-news station. Citing "media terrorism," President Hugo Chávez and his ministers have publicly accused Globovisión's directors of hatching assassination plots against the president, generating panic by covering an earthquake before state television issued an official report, and inciting Venezuelans to deadly violence. In an April address to Latin American diplomats in Washington, Andrés Izarra, a Venezuelan government official, likened Globovisión's coverage to Rwandan radio broadcasts that helped provoke genocide in 1994. Last week, police raided the home of Globovisión's president, Guillermo Zuloaga, and ordered the station to pay $2.3 million for giving free airtime to anti-government groups during a 2002 oil strike. The station faces three investigations into its coverage, which may lead to its closing. Officials at the United Nations and the Organization of American States have raised concerns about the government's measures, as have several press freedom groups.