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JANUARY 14, 2005
Posted: February 2, 2005
Daniel Ortiz Millán, "En Positivo"
ATTACKED, THREATENED
Ortiz, a radio host with the Geomar 105.1 FM station in the city of Punta de
Mata, in the eastern state of Monagas, was attacked by supporters of the local
mayor after he discussed an electoral dispute on the air. He also received
threats from unknown callers.
Ortiz told CPJ that a crowd of people supporting Mayor Àngel Centeno blocked him
from entering the station around 7 a.m. They said they wouldn't allow him to do
his radio program because he was broadcasting information that was disrupting
public order. They pushed him and threw paint at him, he said.
He said the attackers threatened to take him to Plaza Bolívar, about four blocks
from the station, and subject him to what they called "people's revolutionary
justice." Ortiz said police came, cordoned off the area, and took him to a
police station.
The day before the attack, Ortiz discussed on the air local news reports that
Venezuela's Electoral National Council (CNE) had given Centeno a deadline to
present evidence of his party's alliance with the ruling Movimiento Quinta
República (MVR) party. Centeno, a leader of a small evangelical party who ran as
the candidate of a pro-government coalition, narrowly defeated an opposition
candidate in the October 2004 regional elections. The CNE is considering an
appeal by Centeno's rival, who claims that Centeno shouldn't have received the
votes cast for the MVR.
Ortiz hosted the opinion program "En Positivo" (In Positive), which aired from
7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and discussed the news covered in
national and local papers each day. He said his guests included politicians,
priests, and community leaders in Punta de Mata. He produced the show on a time
slot leased from the station.
At the request of the station's director, Ortiz said, he took his program off
the air temporarily. Since the attack, he said, he has received threatening text
messages on his cell phone, and unidentified callers have left threatening
telephone messages at the station.
Later the day of the attack, Ortiz filed a complaint with the Attorney General's
Office in the city of Maturín, the state capital, and gave a statement to the
police. He said he had identified two of his attackers by name.
JANUARY 31, 2005
Posted: February 4, 2005
Patricia Poleo, El Nuevo País
LEGAL ACTION
The Attorney General's Office announced that Poleo, a columnist and director of
the Caracas daily El Nuevo País, would be prosecuted on charges of illegally
obtaining and disclosing sealed case documents and violating anticorruption
legislation. Poleo was accused of publicizing confidential information in the
investigation into the November 2004 murder of prosecutor Danilo Anderson. The
leak has been attributed to police officers.
Acting on a court order, police and prosecutors raided Poleo's home on January
28, searched through computer diskettes, and took photocopies of documents that
prosecutors allege were leaked. Poleo has said that prosecutors are hiding
information that could embarrass the government, and she has vowed she will not
disclose her sources.
Poleo is a high-profile journalist who has supported the opposition in her work.
El Nuevo País is owned by her father, journalist Rafael Poleo. In December 2004
and January 2005, she reported that case documents linked Anderson to an
extortion ring that included several lawyers and prosecutors.
Anderson was in charge of investigating the alleged involvement of several
businessmen, politicians, and former government officials in the April 2002 coup
that briefly deposed President Hugo Chávez Frías. He was blown up while driving
his car in Caracas in November 18, 2004, in what some government officials
termed a "terrorist act." The police have detained three men suspected of
carrying out the murder, but two other suspects are fugitives. Prosecutors
continue looking for those who planned Anderson's murder. In the wake of
Anderson's assassination, some government supporters called for the enactment of
"antiterrorism" legislation.
During December 2004 and January 2005, the local press reported statements by a
Caracas councilman who said that the police found a large amount of money during
a search of Anderson's apartment. The councilman, Carlos Herrera, alleged
Anderson was linked to an extortion ring of lawyers and prosecutors that sought
money in exchange for halting investigations.
But Attorney General Isaías Rodríguez has said prosecutors are focusing on three
theories that point to retaliation against Anderson for his prosecutorial work.
Rodríguez has blamed the press for focusing on the extortion allegations with
the intent of deflecting attention away from those responsible for the murder of
Anderson.