The creation of a new intelligence body in Venezuela that, among other powers, has the capacity to declare information as "reserved" or "classified," generated concern among different national and international organizations, several publications reported.
By Alsha Khan In the last twelve months in Venezuela, there has been a decline of Internet freedom, showing a substantial increase in the censorship of opinions about political events, like the death of Hugo Chávez and the presidential elections in April, according to the report Freedom on the Net published by Freedom House in […]
As of Oct. 1, El Impulso, one of the oldest newspapers in Venezuela, will publish a shorter version of its edition due to a lack of printing supplies. In an editorial published by El Impulso on Sep. 29, the newspaper's editorial board states that it has been waiting 11 months for government authorization that allows it to import the necessary materials.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called on the country's courts and authorities to consider “special measures” that would grant him the ability to sanction print, television and radio news media after accusing them of waging "a psychological war” over Venezuela's current food shortage.
The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) called on the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to immediately release journalist Víctor Manuel García Hidalgo, editor and director of news portal Informe Cifras, who has been incarcerated since March 1 at the petty crimes prison Yare III, accused of civic rebellion.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced last week the creation of ‘El Noticiero de la Verdad’ ("The Truth Newscast"), news agency EFE reported. Private and state media outlets will be required to run the new government radio and TV broadcast twice a day.
After Venezuela's withdrawal from the American Convention on Human Rights on Sep. 10, Venezuelans are now unable to take cases pertaining to freedom of expression violations, among others, to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, said Ariel E. Dulitzky, former assistant executive secretary at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and a leading expert in the inter-American human rights system, in a recent interview with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas.
The current shortage of newsprint in Venezuela has caused a crisis among print publications that is hurting regional newspapers the most. According to El País, at least three regional dailies have been forced to suspend their operations since early August due to the lack of printing paper. Some of the affected newspapers have circulated for decades, like El Sol, in the city of Maturín, in the state of Monagas, and Antorcha, in El Tigre, in the state of Anzoátegui.
The recent surge of legal actions against private media outlets in Venezuela has caught the attention of several journalism organizations, who have described them as attacks on freedom of expression.
Leocenis García, editor and director of the Venezuelan news media group 6to Poder, was charged and held at a military base on August 1 for alleged money laundering, reported Spanish news agency EFE.
The recent departure at least 11 journalists from Venezuelan broadcaster Globovisión has raised questions about the plurality of the media in the country. TV hosts Gladys Rodríguez, Román Lozinski, María Elena Lavaud, Roberto Giusti, María Isabel Párraga and Mary Montes, for instance, resigned a few days after the departure of well-known journalist Leopoldo Castillo, host of the TV show "Aló Ciudadano," news site America Economía reported.
In an article posted on July 30, the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) stated its "concern" over the "abrupt economic measures against the country's journalists and news-media companies" implemented by the Venezuelan government.