Unidentified gunmen fired on a Venezuelan state-run television station, Vive TV, in the country's western state of Zulia on Sunday, July 31. leaving two people injured, reported El Universal.
The gunmen opened fired on the station from a white truck, hitting a police officer protecting the building that had been the target of a robbery three months ago. A security guard broke his leg when he tried to stop the attack, according to El Universal.
The Venezuelan National Association of Journalists, the National Press Workers Union (SNTP) and the Inter American Press Association condemned the attack.
El Nacional reported that the Public Ministry appointed two prosecutors to head up the investigation. The same newspaper reported that the officers injured in the attack were recovering.
Vive TV President Ricardo Márquez said the attack was premeditated. "It's the community work that bothers some sectors because we have addressed key issues like the boundaries of indigenous lands, business production, the fight against killings, among other things," he asserted according to Radio Nacional de Venezuela.
In this line, the Director of Vive TV in the state of Zulia José Luis Méndez connected the attack with denouncements made by the station regarding a case about fisherman on Lake Maracaibo and over illegal fuel trafficking in the neighboring state of Falcón.
Check out the following video about this story (in Spanish):
