By Ingrid Bachmann
President Hugo Chávez said it is not acceptable for the TV station Globovisión to criticize his government, while its majority shareholder, Guillermo Zuloaga, remains a fugitive of Venezuelan justice, The Associated Press reports.
Without mentioning the businessman by name, Chávez called on prosecutors and the Supreme Court to do something about “a confessed coup supporter that is in the United States," El Impulso adds. According to the president, Zuloaga is “conspiring against the country and the national government,” which could be grounds for charging him with treason. The government says Globovisión and Zuloaga’s other businesses are part of this conspiracy.
Zuloaga, who fled the country after being charged with financial crimes, says he is a victim of political persecution. At a Congressional forum in Washington last week, Zuloaga said that Chávez was a threat to democracy in Latin America, Dow Jones adds.
According to the AP, Chávez criticized Zuloaga’s actions: “Not only is he a fugitive, but he also has the nerve to go ... rail against his country, against this government, against this president.”
The president also said the Globovisión owner was part of an alleged $100 million contract on his life, Reuters adds.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
