We made the following statement today after the Venezuelan government issued an arrest warrant for Guillermo Zuloaga, president of Globovisión, on usury and conspiracy charges.
“The fact that the warrant came a week after President Hugo Chávez publicly lamented that Zuloaga remained free is alarming, especially since Globovisión has been the target of a barrage of government investigations,” said Carlos Lauría, CPJ senior Americas program coordinator. “If the government is using Zuloaga’s prosecution as a pretext to silence and intimidate the only remaining critical broadcaster, the rights of citizens to be informed will be seriously restricted and Venezuela’s democracy will suffer yet another blow.”