29 MORE RADIO STATIONS THREATENED; THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 001187 SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2024 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM VE SUBJECT: 29 MORE RADIO STATIONS THREATENED; THE "REVOLUTIONARY OFFENSIVE" CONTINUES REF: A. CARACAS 1019 ¶B. CARACAS 1013 AND PREVIOUS CARACAS 00001187 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBIN D. MEYER REASON 1.4 (D) ¶1. (SBU) Summary. The Venezuelan government announced on September 7 its intention to close another 29 radio stations for alleged administrative and tax irregularities, bringing to 61 the number of radio stations targeted and/or closed since July 31. The timing of the closures and the names of the stations have not yet been announced. A total of 240 radio stations are under review. Diosdado Cabello, the head of the government's broadcasting regulatory agency, denied that the closures represented an attack on freedom of expression: "Those people can say what they want about Chavez. What we cannot permit is that, in the supposed defense of freedom of expression, they violate the law." The government is already planning to reassign the frequencies, many which will go to "community radio." End Summary. -------------- -------------- "Democratizing" the Media by Closing Radio Stations -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Minister of Public Works and Housing, Diosdado Cabello, announced at a September 7 pro-government rally plans to close an additional 29 radio stations for alleged administrative and tax irregularities. The Venezuelan government closed 32 radio stations on July 31 (ref b). The timeline for this second round of closures and the names of the stations slated to be closed have not yet been released, although Cabello said in a September 7 interview with the daily "El Nacional" that it would be "in the next days" ("en los proximos dias"). Cabello repeated his July warning that 240 radio stations were being reviewed to determine their compliance with administrative regulations, including licensing requirements, tax payments, and broadcasting regulations. ¶3. (SBU) Cabello announced at the September 7 rally that he would continue closing radio stations as "part of the revolutionary offensive." Ruling party PSUV National Assembly Deputy Dario Vivas told reporters on September 8 that "all of the (radio) frequencies have been in the hands of the media moguls, and they have taken advantage... For this reason we (PSUV) agree with Minister Cabello on the democratization of the radio spectrum that is not hereditary and belongs to all Venezuelans." ¶4. (SBU) In the "El Nacional" interview, Cabello said that CONATEL, the government's communications regulatory agency, had begun studying the possible reassignment of the frequencies revoked in July to other stations. They have already decided to give one frequency, 102.3, which belonged to Belfort National Radio Network (CNB) and has good coverage in Caracas and Miranda State, to the National Assembly. He said the criteria for assigning the frequencies would be "the requests that have been made" and "organized communities." In response to a question from the reporter, Cabello acknowledged that a great number of the frequencies would go to community radio ("radios comunitarias"). Cabello denied that frequencies would not be granted to people who oppose the government: "Let them submit an application. It does not matter if they are with the opposition. It matters that the radio not be an appendage of a political party." He added that some of the radio stations that were closed belonged to Chavistas or expressed support for the revolution. -------------- Reviewing the Stations -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Cabello told "El Nacional" that 700 radio stations were in compliance with all governmental requirements. He also described the process for reviewing the radio stations, noting that CONATEL's review process for each station takes one month, that 10 of the 34 stations closed in July had filed new documentation with CONATEL, and that others had gone directly to the Supreme Court. He argued that the fact that some stations may not have paid taxes for three or four years did not mean that the government should not implement the law. He also urged Nelson Belfort, the President of the Radio Association, to set an example of compliance with broadcasting regulations, noting that one of Belfort's CARACAS 00001187 002.2 OF 002 stations actually belonged to a woman who sent a letter to CONATEL from Spain claiming her station had been "stolen" from her. ¶6. (SBU) Cabello denied that the closing of the stations either restricted freedom of expression or targeted opposition media. He charged that the majority of the radio frequencies granted during the "Fourth Republic" were a result of political deal-making and that 71 had been issued just three days before Cabello took office. He argued that the Chavez government would not fall into the same pattern of politicizing the radio stations because it was giving the frequencies to communities, which would operate them as public stations, i.e., without income from advertisements, with sponsors, and open to public opinion. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) Radio continues to be the main source of news for most Venezuelans throughout the country. The targeting and/or closure of over 60 stations in a little over one month intensifies the Chavista effort to cow independent media and assert government control over access to information. Chavez clearly hopes that the media will self-censor rather than risk further confrontation with the government and many analysts say self-censorship is already evident. DUDDY