Attacks on the Press - Committee to Protect Journalists

attacks on the press in 2009americas: venezuelastayed in the spotlight when Chávez accused the Cadena Capriles reporters ofprovoking the attack. On August 15, authorities arrested Gabriel Uzcátegui, anemployee of the state-owned broadcaster Ávila TV, in connection with the assault.The station denied involvement and questioned the veracity of the reportedvictims. Uzcátegui had not been charged by late year.Journalists covering protests were systematically harassed and attacked. InJanuary, protesters beat Rafael Garanton, a photographer for the daily El Carabobeño,in Carabobo province while covering a student protest over insecurityin the streets, according to the regional press freedom group Instituto Prensa ySociedad. The journalist, whose camera was stolen by protesters, was taken to ahospital with minor injuries. Instituto Prensa y Sociedad documented other cases:José Gonzáles, a photographer for the daily El Mundo Oriental, was attackedin February by members of Venezuela’s National Guard while photographing apublic transportation drivers’ protest in Anzoátegui. In April, a photojournalistfor the Mérida-based daily Pico Bolívar, Héctor Molina, was threatened by hoodedprotesters when covering a student demonstration. In July, National Guardofficers held Zulia López and Jesús Molina, a reporter and cameraman for thebroadcaster RCTV Internacional, and Thais Jaimez, a reporter for the daily Panorama,after they attempted to cover a construction workers protest in Táchiraprovince.In July, a Táchira judge ordered the arrest of Gustavo Azócar, an outspokencritic of Chávez and correspondent for the national daily El Universal, TV host,and blogger. The judge found that Azócar, accused of financial crimes in a yearsoldcase concerning an advertising contract, had violated a pretrial order not tocomment publicly on the case. Azócar told CPJ he republished on his blog somepieces from other media outlets about the case, but had not written about thecase himself. Azócar’s lawyer and colleagues told CPJ the journalist was beingpunished for his critical commentary on local government officials.Escalating overall violence raised alarm, especially in the country’s interior.In January, unidentified individuals shot and injured Rafael Finol, the politicaleditor for the daily El Regional, outside the paper’s offices in southwestern Acarigua.The journalist told CPJ he believed the attack was in retaliation for thepaper’s political reporting, which supports the Chávez administration. Finoltold CPJ that investigators believed hired assassins had been involved in theattack.Also that month, an unidentified individual shot and killed Orel Sambrano,director of the local political weekly ABC de la Semana and Radio América, in thewestern city of Valencia. Sambrano, 62, was known locally for his investigationsand commentary on local politics. Colleagues told CPJ that he had recently publisheda number of investigative pieces on the family of local businessman WalidMakled. Press reports said that Sambrano had also named Rafael Segundo Pérez,a Carabobo police sergeant, as one of 13 local officers with ties to the Makled clan.On February 13, authorities arrested Pérez and accused him of working as a hiredassassin and conspiring to commit a crime. Local news reports said authoritiesalso issued an arrest warrant for Makled, whose family denied the accusations.Makled was believed to have left the country, news reports said. Deadly violenceagainst the press is rare in Venezuela, according to CPJ research. Five journalists,including Sambrano, have been killed in relation to their work since 1992.One of Venezuela’s most strident critics, Rafael Poleo, editor and publisher ofthe daily El Nuevo País and the newsmagazine Zeta, fled the country in Septemberafter he was summoned by authorities in connection with a 2008 appearanceon Globovisión, during which Poleo said Chávez “could end up like Mussolini.”Poleo, who is living in exile in Miami, has said the government is looking to puthim behind bars as part of its campaign against opponents, according to localnews reports.100101