The Minister of Information of Venezuela, Jesse Chacón, condemned the attack with a can of tear gas against Globovisión on the 1rst of January. The channel is one of the main spaces of critic of the government of president Hugo Chávez Frías. Reporters Without Borders declared that the terrorist attack was made by “La Piedrita”, a radical group that sympathizes with the president.
The government lamented the event and announced that it is against any good discussion in the country. Even if Globavisión has its positions opposed to the government, said Minister Chacón, violence is not contemplated in anyway. The Minister said that the government is looking for a strict investigation in the matter.
The can of tear gas was thrown last Thursday against the headquarters of the channel in Caracas according to a defender of free press in Paris. The can blew on the roof and the gas came into the building making the workers to leave the place.
In October, a journalist of Globovisión was victim of aggressions by the radical group La Piedrita that has placed some mass media as “military objectives”.
Last 1srt January two persons threw a can of tear gas from a motorbike to the roof of the television channel. The object blew and the gas came inside the building through the air conditioning system. The radical group let also leaflets with its name and words against Globovición and El Nacional newspaper.
La Piedrita (literally in English “The Small Stone”), declared war against any mean of communication that is not align with the government. Globavisión has received already three attacks, El Nuevo País newspaper one and the house of journalist Marta Colomina of Globovisión another one.
Besides the situation with La Piedrita, Globavisión has been considered by President Chávez as “traitor to the country” and he got to open an administrative procedure for “electoral infraction” after the last regional elections of November, an act that was criticize even by the National Electoral Council.
