Pierre Fould Gerges

Official intolerance of criticism and unfounded government accusations promoted a climate of fear among Venezuelan journalists. Tensions reached new heights in September when, without providing evidence, President Hugo Chávez Frías and high-ranking administration officials accused private media outlets of plotting to overthrow the government and murder the president. With violent crime rates escalating, the murder of a newspaper executive and the shooting of a critical columnist raised concern about journalists’ safety.

VENEZUELA:

New York, June 16, 2008—Javier García, news anchor for the Caracas-based television station Radio Caracas Television Internacional (RCTV), was found dead in his Caracas apartment on Sunday. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on local authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into García’s death.

VENEZUELA:

New York, June 3, 2008—Unidentified gunmen killed Pierre Fould Gerges, vice president of the Caracas daily Reporte Diario de la Economía, on Monday following dozens of death threats against the paper’s senior administrative staff over the last year. The Committee to Protect Journalists said today that Venezuelan authorities must conduct a thorough investigation and determine whether Gerges’ killing was linked to his newspaper’s work.