Venezuela issued an arrest warrant and raided the home of the President of an Opposition TV news station on Friday, as the government kept up pressure on prominent critics of President Hugo Chavez.
Attorney general Luisa Ortega said station chief Guillermo Zuloaga was wanted for “usury” after he was accused of illegally storing new vehicles for speculative purposes in 2009, charges he says are politically motivated.
The network, Globovision, ran images of police looking for Mr Zuloaga in his house. He was not home and was not arrested.
“It is an order to apprehend him. Although they do not have the right to enter the house, we have no objection to them doing so,” said his lawyer, Perla Jaimes. Mr Zuloaga’s son was also named in the warrant. Mr Zuloaga was detained for a few hours in March after criticising Mr Chavez’s government at a media executives’ conference in Aruba. The attorney general said then he was being investigated for possible crimes of giving false information and offending the President.
The warrant is linked to a 2009 case in which Mr Zuloaga was accused of “illegally storing” 24 new Toyota vehicles to manipulate prices. Globovision is often described as operating like an Opposition political party, offering outspoken criticism of Mr Chavez as well as a venue for politicians to gain exposure.
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Medvedev, Obama to meet June 24
Washington, June 12: US President Barack Obama will meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the White House on June 24 before a G8/G20 summit in Canada, the White House said on Friday.
“President Obama looks forward to using this next meeting with President Medvedev to explore possible avenues of greater cooperation regarding trade, investment and innovation,” the White House said.The Obama adminis-tration has made a deliberate effort to improve relations with Russia since Mr Obama took office last year and has engaged Moscow on a range of issues important to US interests.
The White House said the US and Russia had “made significant strides in resetting relations,” citing sanctions against Iran and North Korea over their nuclear programmes, and a nuclear disarmament treaty Mr Obama and Mr Medvedev signed in April.
“President Obama and President Medvedev have collaborated closely to enhance the security and well-being of the American and Russian people,” the White House said.
—Reuters