CHAVEZ THREATENS TO CLOSE LOCAL TV NEWS STATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000595 SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2029 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL VE SUBJECT: CHAVEZ THREATENS TO CLOSE LOCAL TV NEWS STATION REF: CARACAS 546 AND PREVIOUS CARACAS 00000595 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: A/POLITICAL COUNSELOR DANIEL LAWTON, REASON 1.4 (D) ¶1. (C) Summary. President Chavez threatened to close the opposition-oriented cable television news network Globovision during the May 10 broadcast of his weekly "Alo, Presidente" talk show. Chavez's threat follows Globovision's May 4 broadcast of U.S. Geological Survey seismic data as well as assertions that GBRV authorities were unavailable for comment. There are at least three pending Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (GBRV) investigations against the network. Opposition parties have vowed to support Globovision, but the station's director believes students and opposition party members are too fearful of the GBRV to generate significant street protests. President Chavez has threatened Globovision before, but he appears more determined to close the station than before as he radicalizes his Bolivarian revolution. End Summary. -------------- GBRV Ire Over Tremor Reporting -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Globovision was the first local television station to report on a May 4 early morning tremor. Globovision director Alberto Federico Ravell called into his station at 4:50 a.m. and urged Venezuelans to stay calm. He also said that he tried to reach GBRV officials for information, but they were unavailable. Citing U.S. Geological Survey data, later confirmed by the GBRV, Ravell said the tremor measured 5.4 on the Richter scale. Pro-government members of the National Assembly accused the network May 5 of spreading unnecessary "panic and fear". Globovision's broadcast was aired prior to the release of official Venezuelan information from the GBRV seismology institute Funvisis. The President of the National Assembly's (AN) Committee on Media, Manuel Villalba, urged the media regulatory body Conatel on May 5 to "apply all relevant sanctions given the statements made by Globovision's director Alberto Federico Ravell." -------------- "Globo Will Close Or I Am Not Hugo Chavez" -------------- ¶3. (SBU) During the May 10 Sunday afternoon broadcast of his weekly "Alo, Presidente" talk show, President Chavez threatened to close Globovision. Referring to Globovision's director as a "loose canon," President Chavez warned from his home state of Barinas "We have had enough, the oligarchs have had their time. This will not continue... to the bourgeois and pitiyanquis, you will receive a 'surprise' at any moment... This will end or I am not Hugo Chavez." Referring to the May 4 tremor, Chavez said he and key ministers were awake when it happened and immediately took appropriate action in coordination with the National Guard and police forces. ¶4. (SBU) Former GBRV vice-president and talk show host Jose Vicente Rangel told television viewers May 10 that "media outlets are functioning like political parties, and they deny it. They operate like pressure groups, and deny it. This is unacceptable." Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro, in his capacity as a senior member of Chavez's United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV),said that PSUV fully supported the effort to close Globovision, saying the media should not be used to "foment fear like Alberto Federico Ravell has done." Maduro accused Globovision of engaging in a "permanent conspiracy" against the Chavez government. He also exhorted the international community to "respect" whatever measure the GBRV takes against the station because "in Venezuela there is a solid democracy, and all the institutions are functioning correctly..." -------------- Ongoing GBRV Investigations -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The GBRV telecommunications regulatory agency, Conatel, announced May 7 that it would initiate an investigation of Globovision's May 4 tremor coverage. The GBRV has the authority to close the channel for up to 72 hours based on a first administrative offense, but once the station has been closed in this way the next government complaint could shutter the station permanently. Conatel CARACAS 00000595 002.2 OF 002 launched its first investigation against Globovision in early November 2008 for its October 30 transmission of the show "Hello Citizen", in which guest Rafael Poleo, editor of the opposition daily El Nuevo Pais, said that Chavez "would end up like Mussolini." Conatel announced on November 24 2008 that it would investigate Globovision for allegedly inciting violence by airing a speech by Carabobo state-governor elect Henrique Salas Feo during which he called on supporters to march to the state election commission to demand the release of regional election results. The Supreme Court earlier refused to rule on the first two investigations and deferred the cases to Conatel. Possible administrative sanctions are still pending in Conatel. -------------- Globovision And The Opposition -------------- ¶6. (C) Globovision currently has a license to broadcast free-to-air in Caracas and Carabobo State. In the rest of Venezuela it can be seen via cable or satellite television. Led by Greater Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma, opposition political parties held a press conference May 11 to state their support of Globovision, denouncing the GBRV's efforts to close the station. Globovision director Ravell told Emboff May 11 that he expects the government to come to shut the station for 72 hours within the next week. Then, he said, they can make up another reason to close the station permanently. ¶7. (C) If Globovision loses the right to broadcast freely, Ravell will try to keep broadcasting via the cable network (perhaps for a nearby Caribbean island) and website, although he is worried that the government might try to pressure cable companies to keep Globovision off the air completely. Ravell believes growing public fear of GBRV reprisals will deter any significant public protests to defend Globovision. There were significant student-led protests in 2007 after the GBRV closed RCTV, but RCTV was a free-to-air station that had a much bigger viewing audience. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) President Chavez has threatened to close Globovision before, but he appears far more determined this time to take the cable news network off the air. Doing so now would be consistent with the radicalization of his Bolivarian revolution since his February 15 referendum victory to eliminate term limits. Ending Globovision's right to broadcast freely would remove the last remaining opposition-oriented television network from the airwaves, leaving only state media and self-censoring private channels as local sources of television news. The closure of Globovision would also undermine political pluralism in Venezuela, as the opposition remains most viable only in largely urban areas where citizens have access to non-government sources of information. One opposition party leader conceded to Poloff recently that "our political presence stretches only as far as people can watch Globovision." GENNATIEMPO