“Venezuela’s National Press Workers Union (SNTP for its initials in Spanish) condemned on Tuesday, Oct. 14, a new episode of systematic censorship against journalists and radio programs in Venezuela, following an order banning any mention of the attack against two exiled Venezuelan activists in Bogotá, Colombia.
According to the union, several nationwide radio networks received instructions prohibiting discussion of the armed attack that took place Monday, Oct. 13, in the Colombian capital against human rights defenders Yendri Velásquez and Luis Peche. The order reportedly included direct warnings to broadcasters and the temporary suspension of some journalists who tried to address the issue on air.
The union also noted that similar reprisals had been imposed days earlier against members of the press who mentioned the recent Nobel Peace Prize awarded to María Corina Machado, which is another topic reportedly banned from news coverage.”
