Hugo Chavez’s dictatorship has fined TV channel Globovision US$2.1 million over its coverage of the deadly prison riots at Rodeo prison last June:
Globovision was fined for its coverage of a prison riot that erupted in a prison in June after troops raided an adjacent prison looking for weapons. The raid set off gunfights that left three dead, and the standoff finally ended with negotiations after 27 days. Authorities said four inmates who escaped also were slain by soldiers.
Globovision’s vice president, Maria Fernanda Flores, called the fine “unpayable.” The channel has defended its coverage of the riot.
The fine equals more than 7.5% of the station’s annual revenues, and will likely bankrupt the station.
Long-term readers of this blog may recall that Guillermo Zuloaga, Globovision’s majority owner, had to flee Venezuela last year, following Chavez’s constant threats against him and the station.
Venezuela News and Views has more. The Devil’s Excrement has a post on another Chavista decision on a candidate for the opposition.
AFP had this report last year on Globovision,
Prior posts on Globovision here.