Venezuela's Last Opposition TV Owner Arrested

WrongSizeGlass writes "AP is reporting the owner of Venezuela's only remaining TV channel that takes a critical line against President Hugo Chavez was arrested Thursday. 'Guillermo Zuloaga, owner of Globovision, was arrested on a warrant for remarks that were deemed "offensive" to the president,' Attorney General Luisa Ortega said. This comes on the heels of last week's story titled Venezuela's Chavez To Limit Internet Freedom."

Comments

Uh oh

[Xaedalus]

As bad as things were in Venezuela before this, now they've gotten much, much worse. Any chance of convincing some gray/black hats to strike a blow for decency and sanity, and hack Chavez's websites to portray him as a transvestigial equinophiliac paedo-cannibal?

anything that will make the common people laugh at him, and thereby undermine his social standing from within is just about the only hope Venezuela has left

Re:Uh oh

[John Hasler]

> Any chance of convincing some gray/black hats to strike a blow for decency
> and sanity, and hack Chavez's websites to portray him as a transvestigial
> equinophiliac paedo-cannibal?

> anything that will make the common people laugh at him...

Why do you imagine that would "make the common people laugh at him"? He'd successfully portray it as a CIA attack.

He's the Venezuelans' problem and only they can solve it. Either they will get rid of the kook or they won't.

Re:Uh oh

[Martin Blank]

I don't know that he can last too much longer. Even the poor are starting to turn against him. His attempt a couple of years ago to amend the constitution to allow him to run for president forever turned out to be an embarrassing failure, though he handled it with as much dignity as he has anything else. Oil revenues have declined as output has slowed, in part because much of Venezuela's oil is heavy and difficult to extract, and the expertise to do so was largely provided by foreign companies. When he nationalized the oil industry there, many of those experts told him to go pound sand when he asked for assistance. The electricity grid has declined in reliability as well, and the money just isn't there to fix it (courtesy of the declining oil production).

That Venezuela provides discounted or free oil to certain other nations does not help the fiscal line, nor does the refusal (or perhaps political inability) to charge market rates for petroleum products at home, which results in gasoline that costs a tenth of what it does elsewhere in the world, something that Venezuelans see basically as their right as an oil-producing nation.

He's also warned of "defensive actions" against Colombia (a nation that is not even close to being able to stage a successful attack on a country like Venezuela) on a couple of occasions, and has modernized the military. It would not surprise me at all to see them fighting in the next few years, though, and I will laugh if Venezuela's modern but inexperienced army gets their heads handed to them by the lesser-equipped but far more combat-experienced Colombian army.

Then again, I said that he couldn't possible last a few years ago when the troubles began. A fragmented opposition that can't get a basic unified message together combined with further limited opportunities to get the message out and Chavez's persistent presence on TV for hours on end mean that Chavez will continue to hold the edge for some time to come.

Re:Uh oh

[cayenne8]

I'm afraid the US is heading down this same path.

Maybe not as directly or forcefully..but in a more subliminal way to silent opposition in the US. Efforts are on to try to put a lid on talk radio.

I'm still trying to figure out the position that Mark Lloyd holds.."Chief Diversity Officer"? Is this analagous to the Ministry of Truth?

Hell, Mark seems to actually appreciate what Hugo Chavez has done . And this guy is high up at the FCC??

Re:Uh oh

[plover]

Why do you imagine that would "make the common people laugh at him"? He'd successfully portray it as a CIA attack.

Then bring in the Russians. Those ex-KGB guys knew how to run a good disinformation campaign. Throw mud, keep throwing mud, fling mud into real news stories that spin them the wrong way, do everything you can to make the target look incompetent and buffoonish at every turn. Be sure to use deniable cut-outs so that the deceit can't ever be traced directly back to you.

They caused plenty of dissent in the USA during the cold war. They also learned that disinformation wasn't enough to topple the leaders of the U.S. government, nor did it give them the clear advantage in negotiations. Occasionally it gave them blackmail opportunities to create informants, but for the most part it was a giant waste of money. The KGB apparently never saw it that way, as they stated in 1984 that "Our chief task is to help to frustrate the aggressive intentions of American imperialism ... We must work unweariedly at exposing the adversary's weak and vulnerable points." The job of Service A was to fabricate disinformation through "active measures."

Service A was responsible for casting doubt upon the lone gunman "theory" of the Kennedy assassination; they portrayed J. Edgar Hoover as a Bircher and amplified the rumors of him being a gay cross dresser; and they successfully caused gullible third world leaders to believe all kinds of lies, from AIDS being created by the U.S. Army at Fort Detrick to the U.S. importing third-world orphans to use as organ donors to supposed plans to overthrow the Indian president Rajiv Gandhi.

Re:Uh oh

[jmorris42]

> Actually, for a lot of Venezuelans, Chavez was the solution.

If Communism is the answer somebody asked a really stupid question.

Seriously, compare the lot of the average person there to things pre Chavez and ask if it is better? More importantly, will it be better after another decade of this idiot's misrule?

So forget the more fuzzy question of whether they would have been better off just working towards establishing a better, more free government with the rule of law and some basic protections instead of falling for the tired socialist utopian siren song, because while difficult to 'prove' any sane person already knows the answer to it.

Personally I'd love to see, just once because a second wouldn't ever be needed, the US Govt ask the oil companies who got their assets nationalized by some commie thug if they are 'cool with that' and if they aren't (duh!) if they wouldn't mind if we denied the thug the fruits of his wickedness. Then we airlift out the foreign workers and after giving the locals an hour bomb the living sh*t out of the oil fields.

Re:Uh oh

[CharlyFoxtrot]

I've never believed that. Think about it: the kind of person who is narcissistic enough to think himself deserving of such power, driven enough to pursue it and cunning enough to actually get it is probably already psychotic or psychopathic or at least well on the way after the experiences needed to become absolute ruler. Power may corrupt, but I see more evidence that power attracts the corrupted.

I'm still appalled that anyone defends Chavez

[ShadowRangerRIT]

I've got no beef with socialism in general, but what Chavez is doing isn't socialism. I'm perpetually annoyed by socialism supporters like Sean Penn who defend Chavez, claiming he is not a dictator. I'm sorry, but taking over the media, rewriting the constitution to remove term limits so he can stay in power indefinitely and possibly attempting to assassinate the democratically elected president of a neighboring country (see the first link) are not the actions of a democratic leader. Combined with the allegations of vote fraud and voter suppression in opposition neighborhoods, the man has crossed that line that divides "pompous but legitimate ruler" from "dictator in all but name."

Re:I'm still appalled that anyone defends Chavez

[Kvasio]

having lived behind the iron courtain, I could say that socialism or communism leaders never really cared about own ideology. What was important was that the masses should believe in ideology and obey. Have you read the G. Orwell's "Animal Farm" ? Shows nicely how this happened.

Re:I'm still appalled that anyone defends Chavez

[BlueStrat]

Look at the bright side though: the best supporter Chavez can rustle up is Penn. I don't see his policies sweeping the free world any time soon.

Chavez has supporters right in the Obama administration. One is Obamas' "Diversity Czar" Mark Lloyd at the FCC. Talk about a scary scenario, having a guy like Lloyd in a position of power over the nations' communications!

Here's a quote from Mark Lloyd, speaking at the June 10, 2008 National Conference for Media Reform (NCMR)in Minneapolis, Minnesota:

"In Venezuela, with Chavez, is really an incredible revolution - a democratic revolution. To begin to put in place things that are going to have an impact on the people of Venezuela.

The property owners and the folks who then controlled the media in Venezuela rebelled - worked, frankly, with folks here in the U.S. government - worked to oust him. But he came back with another revolution, and then Chavez began to take very seriously the media in his country.

-And we've had complaints about this ever since."

You can see the video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9ffAP5ixhg

Apparently Chavez' policies are already "sweeping the free world" in the form of the Obama administration, since this statement from Lloyd hasn't been disavowed by anyone in the administration.

Anyone who voices dissent with Obama administration policies on radio/TV and even on the internet should be prepared. There will be a campaign launched to demonize you, painting you as "dangerous" and "promoting violence" and attempting to smear you by conflating voicing your dissent with a few nutjobs (which exist on both sides) who may commit some violent act. You will be fined, taxed, audited, and they'll ultimately will shut you down & silence you if they can.

A Brave New World, indeed!

Strat

Re:I'm still appalled that anyone defends Chavez

[ScentCone]

You are mistaking socialism/communism for dictatorship/totalitarianism

Not really. Only a totalitarian state can force productive people to be slaves to non-productive people. The two modes are part and parcel of the whole.

Re:I'm still appalled that anyone defends Chavez

[Kvasio]

there was joke told in central Europe (formet soviet satellites):

introduce socialism in countries in the Sahara desert area, and in 3 years they will be shortages of sand.

Re:I'm still appalled that anyone defends Chavez

[DesScorp]

"having lived behind the iron courtain, I could say that socialism or communism leaders never really cared about own ideology."

You are mistaking socialism/communism for dictatorship/totalitarianism.
It's a common mistake.

Well it's awfully damn convienient that whenever someone starts a socialist or communist government, they always happen to end up a dictator. So they've killed and starved perhaps hundreds of millions over the past century, but hey, they just didn't do it right, is that it? Lets give 'em another chance?

They always turn out to be dictators because, surprise surprise, socialism and communism are ripe for that kind of system. If you can declare things like property rights null and void "for the people", then there's nothing that you cant take or abolish.... for the people, of course.

Re:I'm still appalled that anyone defends Chavez

[George_Ou]

You're saying socialism is being able to go on the dole but still make a pretty decent living. What you really mean is that socialism is communism living off of the fat of capitalism. It "works" in Sweden with a horrendous tax load on the working people of Sweden. But even then, the Swedes have had the benefit of a relatively homogenous society with some core values like not getting on the dole just because you can. This is becoming problematic for them as more imigrants are going into the country without those same values.

Re:I'm still appalled that anyone defends Chavez

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

Dude, you are a nut or a lemming.

I listened to that video and what you took away from it is the worst possible interpretation. It's like you aren't interested in hearing what he said, only what you wanted him to say.

The video starts off with the guy decrying state controlled media and using the Rwandan massacre as an example. That ought to be a big clue as to his point of view right there. When he cites Venezuela, he's not endorsing Chavez, he's using the actions of oligopoly media in Venezuela at the time to support a coup rather than democratic change. In other words he's citing two examples of extremes - abusive state control of media and abusive private control of media.

You may be all for a coup to throw Chavez out, but he was democratically elected and at the time he certainly was a change for the better in the country - the percentage of people living poverty in Venezeula had more than doubled to two-thirds of the population over the two decades prior to his election. Just because he's gone overboard since then doesn't mean he didn't start off working to improve things, which is what that FCC guy was referring to with "begin to place things."

As for the "and we've had complaints about this ever since" line -- sounds to me like he's referring to the the CIA's involvement in the coup attempt - and I don't see a problem there, we constantly hear complaints about China and Israel trying to influence the US government, if they were part of an actual coup attempt in the US, we would never hear the last of it, we'd probably go to war over it.

Kind of funny-sad how going to google for this background info, all I got was a vast echo-chamber of blogs, none of them doing anything beyond parroting the invective, not one of them that I checked could be bothered to raise a single skeptical eyebrow instead of jumping on the bandwagon.

Re:I'm still appalled that anyone defends Chavez

[ScentCone]

Capitalism is one man taking advantage of the other,

No. Capitalism is two people agreeing to a mutually beneficial exchange of goods, services, work, assets, etc. If you're bad at it, you won't be as successful as someone who is better at it. If you don't do anything of value, you can't demand as much value in exchange.

Communism is the other way around.

No, Communism is the person who produces the least getting the most benefit from the person who works the hardest. It punishes hard work, and rewards mediocrity and laziness. Mostly, it rewards the statists who play the middleman.

Socialism is something else, for example people in Sweden can freely quit their jobs

Socialism is still the productive people working for the non-productive people. It's less militant, but it's still the same deal with the devil. It pays lip service to extra hard work's rewards, but is still the use of force to punish that hard work by handing the fruit of that work to those who couldn't or wouldn't do it themselves. The only places where a veneer of this appears to work is in places like Sweden where the culture has a strong historical work ethic. That's now starting to fall apart, as that culture is poisoned from the outside.

Re:I'm still appalled that anyone defends Chavez

[Improv]

Yeah, longer life, better education, better healthcare, generally happier people.

Awful. I'm glad we don't have anything like that here.

Re:I'm still appalled that anyone defends Chavez

[Rising Ape]

>Socialism is still the productive people working for the non-productive people.

When socialism originated the intention was for it to be the opposite of this state, which existed under capitalism at the time (and still does effectively, but not as dramatically). You had the capitalists, who owned factories and companies, and the workers who did not but had to sell their labour. The workers would actually do the work and produce while most of the benefits went to the owners as profit. The whole point of socialism was that the workers should own the means of production, thus avoiding this issue.

Your analysis is only true at a micro-level, and ignores the environment in which these allegedly "agreed exchanges" take place. Just look at *history* - extremely dangerous working conditions, child labour, sweatshops. Unattractive, but if the only alternative is that or starve, you will inevitably make the "beneficial exchange" even if the benefits of the transaction are vastly skewed against you.

Re:I'm still appalled that anyone defends Chavez

[shutdown -p now]

Point to a monopoly that existed for more than a decade or so without the power of the State behind it.

I can't, because there was no period in human history wherein State didn't intervene into the market to some extent. Every time we tried to let it loose, it crashed hard and fast - we're still going through the consequences of such a crash at the moment, and if you look at countries which suffered most, it's usually those with more deregulated economies. Just compare US and Canada...

Re:Chilling thought

[NeutronCowboy]

It disturbs me greatly that a man like this, and Fidel Castro regularly have been praising the direction our country is heading.

Yes, and when the devil says that 2+2=4, it has to be wrong. If you do the exact opposite of what certain people tell you to do, you're letting them influence you just as much as if you followed exactly what they tell you to do. The only way to deal with people like that is to ignore their populist comments.

Re:Lordy lord, it's not that bad

[khallow]

Look if Chavez can jail opponents arbitrarily, then they should be able to kill Chavez any time they feel like it. That's only fair when law means only what the strong want it to mean.

Re:Lordy lord, it's not that bad

[Eponymous Bastard]

Actually, the venezuelan government has been trying to close Globovision for a while now, and one of the biggest problems is that they have NEVER advocated any kind of violence against the government, be it the president or anyone else. It would cost too much international support for them to close another oposition TV station without a good reason.

The other two big independent TV stations have been scared off enough that they don't dare play anything political. The only other one is VTV, the government's channel (and I don't mean Bush' Fox, I mean wholly owned by the government). They do play show like "La Hojilla" (The razor blade) that openly advocated a few times killing oposition as a legitimate means of defending "the revolution".

Not to mention Chavez himself sometimes applauding relatively violent acts in his defense.

Now, I won't say that Globovision is fair and balanced, but as far as I can tell they never outright lied about anything. I understand Fox news to be more radical and distorting than Globovision and yet I don't see the Fox owners being hounded for years and finally arrested like Zuloaga.

FWIW, it seems Zuloaga was released after appearing in court, with a prohibition against leaving the country. We'll see whether he'll fold and close Globovision or be thrown in jail on trumped up charges.

Time to claw things back and give Chavez a chance to reform the country, like a majority of the population say they want.

Disclaimer on my stance on the government: Chavez has been in power for 10 years. He's changed the constitution multiple times, tried out different reforms all while oil was at an all time high and money was flowing into the country like crazy. He's had a BIG chance to reform the country and It's all been a failure. Lately all he's doing helps the government more than the people.

Hell, we even have rolling blackouts now, when we used to export electricity. This is a situation that was predicted over a year ago, but 10 years of ignoring the power infrastructure have left its mark, and yet he blames it all on el niño and the previous governments.

If you want change, don't prop up the same old government. If you're a socialist, elect a different socialist president. If you're a capitalist, same thing. There's no reason to maintain Chavez in power for another 50 years.

Re:Argh, you're right

[h4rr4r]

Maybe because the president he was trying to get rid of was an even worse guy?
I think Chavez is a nutbag, but Perez was horrible. Shit that guy used their military on protesters after he sold out to the IMF.

Because what he did is legal in the USA?

[bigjocker]

If you have the balls to make wild claims, you better have a pair to prove them.

You have the freedom to accuse the government of killing people, but you have the duty to present the proof. Nowhere in the world (including the USA) you can accuse anybody of mass killing people without presenting any proof and come out clean. And when the accuser is the owner of a major TV channel it's worse.

Next, we'll see slashdot out-crying the incarceration of killers because they voted against Chavez.

The president has a right to legal defense

[Paua Fritter]

The Venezuelan president has a right a legal defense on unwarranted attacks on his reputation - if he is defamed then he can take the matter to court. This doesn't make him a dictator.

Zuloaga has a defense to the charges against him: if he can prove his statements were true, then he can get off. But if his allegations about Chavez are in fact just inflammatory lies, then he's in some serious legal shit.

Re:Argh, you're right

[CharlyFoxtrot]

Why didn't they kill him 18 yrs ago when he tried to assassinate the president? He even said he "failed (at assassination) for now". But instead of execution, he was released two years later and made president 4 years after that?? We might as well make John Hinckley the next US President

Article doesn't say anything about an assassination, just a coup. It also says the president was impeached a year later which might give a clue as to why they wouldn't have been sad to see him go. Anyway isn't regime change through military action acceptable in US doctrine these days ?