Globovisión | Fausta's Blog

July 5, 2014 By Fausta

Venezuela: Bye-bye, El Universal UPDATED

As Venezuelans struggle with the world’s fastest inflation and the worst growth prospects outside Equatorial Guinea, Major Venezuelan newspaper to be sold

One of Venezuela’s oldest and most prestigious newspapers has been sold amid increasing government pressure on independent news media.

The editor in chief of Caracas-based El Universal, Elides Rojas, confirmed that a group of Spanish investors had bought the broadsheet from the family that has run the paper since it was founded 104 years ago.

While neutral reporting in Venezuela is hard to come by after 15 years of polarization over socialist rule, El Universal has stuck closer than most to the ideal of fact-based, investigative reporting amid a crackdown on media outlets that, like it, have been fiercely critical of the government.

As you may recall, last year Globovisión was sold to highly-placed chavistas (who own very pricey digs in Miami), after Guillermo Zuloaga, Globovisión’s majority owner, had to flee Venezuela in 2010, following Hugo Chavez’s constant threats against him and the station.

Caracas Chronicles describes the latest transaction as “HegemonCorp. [the private business sector of the communicational hegemony] gets El Universal“

The new head of El Universal would be Jesús “Chucho” Abreu Anselmi, brother of José Antonio Abreu, head of the National Orchestra System (better known as El Sistema).

The Spanish investors’ company, Epalisticia, is described as a “semi-clandestine enterprise” in this report.

UPDATE
Alek Boyd has more, much more on Epalisticia:
Spain’s €3,500 Epalisticia buys El Universal for €90 million

April 26, 2014 By Fausta

En español: La vida de los “Enchufados” en Miami

Una de las mentiras chavistas que más repite la izquierda norteamericana es que Chávez disminuyó la desigualdad.

Javier Ceriani de AQP investiga cómo viven los príncipes del Chavismo en Miami – quienes compraron Globovisión – “enchufados” en el imperio. No se pierdan los yates:

Parte I

Parte II

Parte III, donde explica como investigó (desde los 8:00 minutos)

Parte IV

<br /> No se pierdan tampoco el libro de Casto Ocando, Chavistas en el Imperio: Secretos, Tácticas y Escándalos de la Revolución Bolivariana en Estados Unidos.

May 29, 2013 By Fausta

Venezuela: 2 Americans shot in strip club

Two US embassy personnel shot in Venezuela

Two employees of the US embassy in Venezuela were shot and wounded early Tuesday in the capital Caracas, in a murky incident that local media and a police source said took place at a strip club.
…
US diplomatic sources later confirmed to AFP that the two men were shot.

The Venezuelan media identified the two men as Roberto Ezequiel Rosas and Paul Marwin, and said they were military attaches at the embassy, but neither the State Department nor the embassy in Caracas would confirm those reports.

“My understanding is that they are other agency personnel, not from the State Department,” Ventrell said.

Apparently there was a fight, and it was a bordello, not just a strip club, in the basement.

Tim Padget reports on the Mario Silva tapes, Venezuela’s Latest Scandal Shows Signs the Regime Chávez Built Is Falling Apart.

Now Nicolas Maduro Accuses CNN Of Calling For Coup Against Venezuela

“Television, I mean CNN, CNN en Español, is a broadcaster that works at the behest of destabilization, that calls openly for a coup d’etat in Venezuela,” Maduro said in a speech carried by state television, according to Colombia’s Radio Caracol. “CNN en Español has become the starting point to promote an intervention against our country.”

Video in Spanish,

More important news in Venezuela is the change in ownership of Globovisión, the beleaguered TV station that dared show the opposition’s point of view. Miguel Octavio writes about how this Important Media Window Now Closed For Venezuelan Opposition

So, it is not a matter of Globovision’s editorial line, whether you hate it or not. It is not a matter of whether Globovision torments you or not, it is not a matter of whether Globovision was too political, too pro opposition or the like. No, what matters is that the only window the opposition had in Venezuela to communicate its personalities is now closed. We will no longer see the face of Capriles live, but more importantly, you will not see much of the faces (many of them new ones) of the opposition candidates to the mayoral elections later this year.

Seems to me that the regime is doing its best to make the opposition seem invisible. From there, to making them disappear is only a few steps.

January 8, 2013 By Fausta

Venezuela: Twitter raid UPDATED

Raid on home of Twitter user suspected of spreading Chávez health rumours
Alleged microblogger is cousin of prominent opposition journalist who has been critical of the Venezuelan government

Venezuelan intelligence officers have raided the home of a Twitter user suspected of spreading destabilising rumours about the health of Hugo Chávez ahead of an inauguration that the ailing president looks increasingly unlikely to attend.

The alleged microblogger, Federico Medina Ravell is the cousin of a prominent opposition figure, prompting concerns that a long-simmering “information war” could be escalating as the government and its opponents try to fill the vacuum left by a leader who has not been seen or heard in public since he flew to Cuba for emergency cancer surgery a month ago.

The team of Sebin (Bolivarian National Intelligence Service) officers confiscated several computers from Medina’s home in Valencia on Sunday night, according to domestic newspapers.

Medina is the cousin of Alberto Federico Ravell, a well-known opposition journalist and co-founder of Globovision, a major news broadcaster and staunch critic of the Chávez government.

Medina, who was not at home, is accused of instigating terrorism through social networking sites. He is said to be behind the @LucioQuincioC Twitter account, which has claimed that Chávez will not return from Havana.

Fausta’s blog readers may recall that Globovision has been in Chavez’s cross-hairs for several years. In 2011 Hugo Chavez’s dictatorship fined TV channel Globovision US$2.1 million over its coverage of the deadly prison riots at Rodeo prison. The fine equaled more than 7.5% of the station’s annual revenues. Guillermo Zuloaga, Globovision’s majority owner, had to flee Venezuela in 2010, following Chavez’s constant threats against him and the station.

Meanwhile, as Cuba vies for control in post-Chávez Venezuela and other socialist heads-of-state plan to show up in Caracas for Chavez’s third inaugural (whether Chavez himself is there or not), the Venezuelan Catholic Church has said that delaying President Hugo Chavez’s inauguration would be a “morally unacceptable” violation of the constitution.

Cross-posted at Liberty Unyielding.

UPDATE,
The winner of BEST POST TITLE goes to Carlos Eire, Forecast for Venezuela: Chance of the shinola hitting the fan at 99.999999 %

Interview: The man who Chavez wants dead
Ravell told Raheem Kassam that his family have been repeatedly threatened, and that if he were to return to Venezuela, he would be killed

RK: Is this the first time you or your family have been threatened?

FMR: My family has been harassed via phone, and now the government has threatened to confiscate my assets, under the claim that I am responsible for the terrorist twitter account @LucioQuincioC. Their only reason to persecute me is that I am a critic of the regime; I am the first cousin of Alberto Federico Ravell, co-founder of globovision.com TV channel, and lapatilla.com news; I am also an active member, despite being away from my homeland, of Progressive Front for Change, an opposition alliance, alongside Ismael Garcia, Henri Falcon and Juan Jose Molina.

October 19, 2011 By Fausta

Venezuela fines Globovision over prison coverage

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.

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July 26, 2010 By Fausta

The Colombia/Venezuela kerfuffle Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

LatinAmer Welcome to this week’s Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. This week’s big story: Colombia and Venezuela are disputing evidence presented at the OAS that Chavez is harboring FARC terrorists. Mary O’Grady writes about Where the FARC Goes to Fatten Up
Dramatic evidence presented by Colombia at last Thursday’s OAS meeting in Washington puts Hugo Chávez on the hot seat. (emphasis added)

In a two-hour presentation before the permanent council at the Organization of American States, Colombian OAS ambassador Luis Alfonso Hoyos laid out a series of photos, videos, maps, satellite images and computer documents that Colombia claims show the rebels using Venezuela as a safe haven much the same way they were using Ecuador.

Mr. Hoyos also charged that Venezuela knows about the guerrilla camps—some of which have been there for a long time—and has done nothing about them. Indeed, the Venezuelan National Guard sometimes consorts with the rebels, Mr. Hoyos said.

Given this new information, Mr. Chávez’s reaction to Colombia’s 2008 incursion into Ecuador now looks logical. Bogotá justified that raid on the grounds that its appeals to Quito to go after FARC taking rest and relaxation in its territory had gone nowhere. Now we know that Mr. Chávez had reason to believe he would be next.

But Mr. Uribe launched a different sort of offensive on Thursday. Instead of a military operation, he bundled new intelligence on the FARC’s Venezuelan outposts and dropped it like a bomb on the OAS permanent council.

The facts were no surprise. For years, Bogotá has been complaining—with no shortage of proof—about the friendly treatment Venezuela gives the guerrillas. But by packaging and delivering the new evidence as he did, Mr. Uribe put Mr. Chávez, very publicly, on the spot. More importantly, he has forced the issue with his hemispheric counterparts.

Mr. Hoyos told the OAS that there are some 1,500 rebels across the border in more than 75 camps. There they regroup, organize, train and prepare explosives. This safe-haven status, he explained, produces more kidnapping and drug trafficking on both sides of the border. And more carnage in Colombia: Graphic photos of rebel victims flashed on a screen while he spoke.

Mr. Hoyos did not call for sanctions against Venezuela. Instead he asked for an international commission to verify Colombia’s claims. He promised that his government could provide the “precise coordinates” of farms and haciendas where the rebels are ensconced. “If what is there is only a little school and humble peasants, there would be no problem with an international commission to verify if Colombia’s accusation is not true,” Mr. Hoyos argued.

CENTRAL AMERICA
Central America: Cultivation Central
Central America is rapidly becoming an important global trading partner as its fruit and vegetable exports grow.

LATIN AMERICA
Making Latin America More Competitive

SOUTH AMERICA
175 people killed in South America cold spell

ARGENTINA
Democracy or exclusion? Argentine politicians favor Twitter over journalists

BRAZIL
The Skeletons in Brazil’s Closet

China invests heavily in Brazil, elsewhere in pursuit of political heft

CHILE
Chile Fishermen Fight to Recover From Quake

Cierre de pasaje genera polémica/ Venta de viviendas sube en junio/ Puerto Octay se declara zona típica

COLOMBIA
Why Colombia did get so personal yesterday at the OAS?

Bogota Brouhaha
Why is Colombia putting the screws to Chavez now?

CUBA
Cuba—Is It Different This Time?

Capitol or Bat House

A Cuban Dissident Asks: Why do you (heart) Marxist-Leninist Autocrats?

The Suffering of Guantanamo Prisoners

Democratic Senator Menendez Threatens Filibuster Over Cuba Sanctions

ECUADOR
Ecuador Leader Falters in Bid to Consolidate Power

GUATEMALA
Ugh! Bowls of Human Fingers and Teeth Found in Mayan Tomb (h/t Gates of Vienna)

HONDURAS
Cultural differences: Consumer complaints

MEXICO
No, Texas Hasn’t Been Invaded, original post here.

New Terror Threat On Mexico Border

Mexico prison guards let inmates out for massacres

The gang at Gomez Palacio were responsible for 33 murders in three incidents, including the massacre of 17 people at a rented hall filled mainly with young adults. They fired more than 120 rounds into the crowd; it was the bullet casings that led investigators back to Gomez Palacio. The prison director and three of his henchmen have been placed under house arrest, although considering this story, that may wind up being more secure than prison anyway.

This should impress the truth on people, which is that the problem in Mexico isn’t American guns, or any kind of guns at all. The problem in Mexico is corruption.

Mexico: Prison guards let killers out, lent guns

NUGENT: Dear Mexico …
American dream is attainable for those who share our values

Terrorism in Mexico?

PANAMA
Foreign banking for U.S. citizens just got a lot more dfficult

PERU
Peru declares states of emergency in 16 regions due to cold wave

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico requests FEMA aid for 17 flooded areas

VENEZUELA
Rumble at the OAS: Colombia vs. Venezuela

A very personal rant: Screw Maradona, Long Live Abdus Salam and throw Richard Feynman into the mix!

Chávez intenta nuevamente apoderarse de Globovisión

Chavez says Venezuela now owns almost half of opposition channel Globovisión

Will the U.S. Hand Chávez a License to Kill?
Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez’s record of providing money, arms, political support, and, yes, safe haven to groups waging a murderous war against a sovereign state openly violates international law.

Behind exhumation of Simon Bolivar is Hugo Chavez’s warped obsession

PRESIDENTE, VAMOS A EXHUMAR EL POLLO, LA LECHE, EL ARROZ…

Qué hacer con Hugo Chavez?

And, Stoned, as always,

Oliver Stone: ‘Jewish-Dominated Media’ Prevents Hitler from Being Portrayed ‘in Context’

The director, who recently met with Iranian President Ahmadinejad, also slammed the U.S. policy toward Iran as “horrible.”

“Iran isn’t necessarily the good guy,” said Stone. “[B]ut we don’t know the full story!”

The Scarface screenwriter had even more encouraging words for socialist Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, who Stone called “a brave, blunt, earthy” man. The director has recently been promoting his Chavez-praising documentary called “South of the Border.”

When the interviewer pointed out that Chavez has had a less-than-stellar record on human rights, Stone immediately dismissed the criticism.

“The internet’s fully free [in Venezuela],” said Stone. “You can say what the hell you like. Compare it with all the other countries: Mexico, Guatemala, above all Colombia, which is a joke.”

While Stone has not been as blunt about his views on Jews and the Holocaust in the past, he has been outspoken in his fondness for Chavez and his disagreements with the U.S.’s policy on Iran.

On ABC’s Good Morning America on July 28, the director told anchor George Stephanopoulos that he “absolutely” believes Chavez is a good person, and claimed that there was “there’s no pattern of censorship in this country [Venezuela].”

IMMIGRATION
Deportation of illegal immigrants increases under Obama administration

The week’s posts and podcasts:
Chavez breaks relations with Colombia over evidence presented at OAS
Moratinos falls for a sucker game
I’m not the only Latina supporting the Arizona SB 1070
“The Mandela of Cuba”
El Diario’s spy, Vicky
Venezuela, Syria and Iran, sponsors of terror VIDEO

Special thanks to Dick, Maggie, and Maria.

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June 17, 2010 By Fausta

Globovision owner flees Venezuela

Chávez Opponent Flees Venezuela

The principal owner of Venezuela’s last remaining opposition television station has fled the country, as President Hugo Chávez continues to ratchet up the pressure on his rivals months ahead of crucial September legislative elections.

Guillermo Zuloaga fled Venezuela after a warrant was issued for his arrest last week, a station representative confirmed.

“He’s no longer in Venezuela,” said Edith Ruiz, director of institutional relations at Mr. Zuloaga’s Globovision television station Wednesday. She said his exact whereabouts outside of Venezuela were unknown.

Venezuelan authorities issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Zuloaga on Friday on charges that a car dealership his family owns had hoarded automobiles. Mr. Zuloaga denies the allegation.

In a call to Globovision earlier in the week, Mr. Zuloaga said the government’s accusation against him was trumped up for the sole purpose of shutting down the station.

Things have been getting progressively worse:

In March, Mr. Zuloaga was briefly arrested for saying on a television show that the nation lacked freedom of expression. But he was released after an international outcry.

Over the years, Mr. Chávez has moved to take over the airwaves, opening a plethora of state-run channels that give the president fawning coverage.

In 2007, the government went after private broadcasters, ordering that the license of the biggest and most outspoken broadcaster, RCTV, not be renewed. The move forced it off the airwaves. The government then later forced the channel off cable television as well.

Other TV broadcasters, cowed by the government, softened their coverage of the government. But Globovision has remained the exception, infuriating Chávez officials.

Mr. Zuloaga is the second major shareholder and director of the station to flee or refuse to return to the country in the last few days. Globovision director Nelson Mezerhane, who is also president of Banco Federal, a midsize bank seized by Venezuelan authorities Monday, said earlier this week he wouldn’t go back to Venezuela because he feared judicial persecution. Venezuelan authorities said the bank wasn’t meeting liquidity requirements, an allegation Mr. Mezerhane says is false.

It’s a war against freedom of expression.

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June 14, 2010 By Fausta

Venezuelan judge orders arrest of Globovision owners: 15 Minutes on Latin America

In today’s podcast at 11AM Eastern,
Monica Showalter of Investor’s Business Daily talks about the latest persecution of journalists in Venezuela.

Globovision website here.

Hugo Chavez’s inflammatory accusations against Guillermo Zuloaga and son (in Spanish):

Globovision’s official statement:

Another Venezuelan journalist has been sentenced to four years in jail for “ofensa a funcionario público e injuria contra persona encargada de servicio público” offending a public functionary and injuring a person in charge of public service: Periodista venezolano condenado a casi 4 años de prisión

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