Anti-Chavez TV station faces possible shutdown

CARACAS, Venezuela — The government said Monday a leading TV channel aligned with Venezuela’s opposition could lose its broadcast license for allegedly airing a viewer’s text message calling for a coup and the assassination of President Hugo Chavez.

Diosdado Cabello, president of the telecommunications commission, said authorities will also ask prosecutors for a criminal probe to determine whether the owners of Globovision should face trial for allegedly trying to incite rebellion.

Asked if the government would close Globovision, Cabello responded: “That depends on the investigation.”

Ana Cristina Nunez, Globovision’s legal adviser, said the channel would never intentionally broadcast unlawful text messages.

“We are very careful in attempting to stop people from using Globovision’s screen to make illegal petitions,” Nunez said.

Earlier in the day, the telecommunications commission issued a statement accusing Globovision — the last major channel on Venezuela’s regular airwaves that is strongly critical of Chavez — of airing messages that “allude to violent acts,” including a call for a coup attempt.

The 24-hour news channel also purportedly sought to “promote public protests, which could generate a climate of tension and nervousness in the population,” it said.

Chavez’s government closed 32 radio stations and two small television stations last month and Cabello said last week that an additional 29 radio stations “will soon leave” the airwaves.

Cabello says some stations failed to update their registrations or let their concessions expire, while others held licenses granted to an operator who is now deceased. “We are acting within the law,” he said Monday.

Opponents accuse Chavez of cracking down on dissent by silencing the media.

“There’s a clear strategy to control the flow of information and restrict criticism,” said Carlos Lauria of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. “It’s aimed at building a communicational hegemony for the state.”

Chavez has denied that his government is targeting media for political reasons, saying Globovision and other outlets are being investigated only for alleged violations of broadcasting regulations.

Hundreds of radio stations still broadcast in Venezuela, and many are critical of the government.

But Globovision has been the last remaining staunchly anti-Chavez channel on regular television since 2007, when the government refused to renew the license of RCTV — another opposition-aligned station.

Nunez suggested the government could be pressuring Globovision to curb its strident anti-Chavez stance.