A day after the organization Amnesty International complained in its annual report about freedom of press restrictions in Venezuela, the U.S. government said that the Hugo Chavez administration has been persecuting the Venezuelan press, in a Human Rights report published on Thursday, May 24, reported the portal Terra.
The Washington report expressed concern about "the government actions which impede freedom of expression and criminalize opposition," according to the website G1. The report shows fees, threats, equipment confiscation, and criminal investigations of private news media and journalists. The increasing concentration of Venezuelan government power is also a problem, reported the newspaper Correio Braziliense.
Just a few months from the country's new six-year presidential administration, the attacks against the press have increased in Venezuela. Cases of censorship, violence, and threats have multiplied. International organizations have expressed their concern for the hostile climate, provoked by government followers and opposition.
On Tuesday, May 22, a correspondent and a cameraman of the government TV channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV) were attacked while covering a political act by the opposing presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, reported the website Espacio Público. The week of May 14, journalists of the National System of Public Media of Venezuela were also attacked by the opposition to the Chavez administration.
