BRV PUMMELS THE PRESS AGAIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 CARACAS 000717

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/15/2021
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KPAO KDEM VE
SUBJECT: BRV PUMMELS THE PRESS AGAIN

REF: A. CARACAS 536


B. CARACAS 664

Classified By: Robert Downes, Political Counselor,
for Reason 1.4(b).

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Summary
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1. (C) The BRV moved again against the opposition media,
implicating a total of six journalists in legal actions in
the past week. Two columnists at Caracas daily El Nacional
and four local radio announcers at an Anzoategui state radio
station were caught up in the latest sweep. The move follows
a string of recent BRV actions against the press, (reftels a
and b). Government officials, including the Vice-President
and the new Communications Minister, sought to justify the
latest charges, claiming they were waging a "battle for the
truth." The media is one of the few remaining independent
institutions of democracy in Venezuela, and recent BRV moves
are clearly designed to corral and even muzzle it. As we saw
in the case against Gustavo Azocar (reftel b),local
political opportunism has begun to play a significant role in
BRV targeting of the press, a shift from the BRV's previously
more centralized attacks on national media figures and
outlets. End summary.

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VP Lashes Out Against El Nacional
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2. (C) A Caracas court on March 13 issued an arrest order for
El Nacional columnist Ibeyise Pacheco, who in 2005 had been
found guilty of defamation and sentenced to nine months in
prison for publishing materials which called into question
the academic qualifications of Colonel Angel Bellorin. The
judge denied Pacheco any procedural benefits such as house
arrest. Upon presenting herself in to authorities March 15,
Pacheco told the crowd which turned out to support her that
she had no fear of "the times to come" and publicly accused
the attorney general's office of persecuting the media. Over
1,000 people rallied at the courthouse, including journalists
Napoleon Bravo and Marianella Salazar, who also face
defamation charges, and Sumate leader Maria Corina Machado.
Taking a higher profile than she has of late, Machado
addressed the crowd and declared Sumate's support for freedom
of expression in Venezuela. Media sources told emboffs that
after her hearing March 15, Pacheco was taken to Directorate
of Intelligence and Prevention Services (DISIP) headquarters,
in what most interpreted as an open effort to intimidate
Pacheco, since DISIP is widely believed to use torture
against detainees. The court then ruled to release Pacheco on
house arrest. Pacheco told emboffs March 16 it was
&unclear8 whether she would be permitted to write her
column during her arrest. She tested the waters March 17 with
an El Nacional column entitled &Prison has begun8 in which
she criticizes the BRV,s recent actions against the press.


3. (U) In a separate judicial ruling March 13, a Caracas
court determined there was enough evidence to send the case
of El Nacional columnist Marianella Salazar to trial. Salazar
is accused of defamation for a column she wrote in June 2003
in which she denounced Vice President Jose Vincente Rangel
and then-Defense Minister Diosdado Cabello for
"irregularities" in the purchase of military radars. Upon
learning of the court's decision, Salazar noted that neither
the Vice President or Cabello had responded to the charges
three years ago, and accused the BRV of using the judiciary
against the media to criminalize dissent in an election year.
Salazar is free pending trial.


4. (C) Government officials, led by Vice President Rangel,
defended the BRV's actions against El Nacional. In an open
letter to El Nacional's editorial board, the Vice President

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called upon Pacheco and Salazar to defend the accusations
made in their columns, stating that "they have accused high
government officials of murder, kidnapping, terrorism and
robbery...and neither of them have presented any proof of
these allegations." Newly appointed Communications Minister
Willian Lara echoed the Vice President when he said that the
BRV was engaged with the media in a "battle for the truth",
putting himself directly in front of the issue publicly
perhaps in an attempt to prove himself in his new position.


5. (C) The BRV is clearly singling out El Nacional. The
Caracas daily has been dogged by comments by high-ranking
government officials in recent weeks. President Chavez has
increasingly railed against El Nacional owner Miguel Otero on
his weekly television broadcast Alo Presidente. Columns by
Marciano, the pseudonym used by Vice President Rangel for his
missives in pro-government paper Vea, have also targeted the
paper. A cartoon published by pro-government paper La Razon
March 12 showed the Ambassador giving orders to the El
Nacional's owner. Whatever the reason, the BRV's message to
El Nacional March 13 was crystal: back-off or face the
consequences.

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Anzoategui Governor Targets Local Radio Station
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6. (C) Police forces entered the offices of local Anzoategui
radio station Orbita March 10 to issue summons to four of the
station's announcers -- Manuel Rocca, Hector Cordero, Angel
Morillo and Jose Brito -- who were called to testify March 14
in the state prosecution's investigation of station owner
Fernando Zaurin. Anzoategui Governor Tarek William Saab
accused Zuarin of sponsoring a hate campaign against him in
December 2005 and asked state prosecutors to determine
whether Zuarin could be charged under the Social
Responsibility Law for defamation. At the time, Saab told the
press "Nobody, regardless of whether they control the media,
has the right to massacre the honor of any Venezuelan." Both
opposition and pro-government press have speculated that the
March 10 raid's real objective was Zaurin's arrest, and
pro-opposition Anzoategui daily El Impacto quoted Saab as
saying that "once the dog (Zaurin) dies, my headache will be
gone." While this should be taken with the requisite lump of
salt, it is clear the case against the station is being
driven at a local level by the state's chavista Governor,
much as we saw in a parallel action against Tachira
journalist Gustavo Azocar March 7.

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Ambassador, NGOs Defend Press Freedom
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7. (U) The Ambassador told the press March 14 that "all
nations have the obligation to respect international law
(regarding press freedom) and to listen to the opinions of
the organizations the international community created to
monitor freedom of expression." Both international and
Venezuelan press NGOs, including Reporters without Borders,
Public Space, the Venezuelan Institute for Press and Society,
and the Venezuelan Press Bloc, have been vocal in their
support of the accused journalists.

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COMMENT
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8. (C) As the BRV's "battle for the truth" wages on in this
election year, we are seeing accelerating government action
against the press on both national and state levels. The
BRV's anti-media campaign -- previously disguised under
layers of legislation and rhetoric -- has become less subtle
since the beginning of the year. Which outlets are chosen for
attack is interesting; like most BRV actions, this assault
seems largely improvised at the tactical level, even as the

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overall strategy of corralling and then muzzling the press
has become quite clear. The pressure against El Nacional )
which moved decisively to moderate its previously unalloyed
pro-opposition editorial line ) sent a powerful signal as to
the merits of compromise with the Bolivarians.State
authorities have been far more direct in their persecution of
the press than their more polished counterparts in Caracas.
It will be interesting to see how the BRV manages its
international image in light of these developments.
BROWNFIELD