Venezuela bans violent photos in newspaper

[cory777]

Source: Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela — A court ordered one of Venezuela's leading newspapers on Tuesday to stop publishing photographs depicting blood, guns and other violent images and warned it could face a hefty fine for having published a photo of bodies in a morgue.

Venezuelan officials say the ruling involving El Nacional — one of Venezuela's oldest newspapers and a fierce critic of President Hugo Chavez — aims to protect children and adolescents from violent images, but opponents called the move politically motivated censorship.

In its ruling, the court said it prohibited the newspaper from publishing "images, information and publicity of any type that contains blood, guns, alarming messages or physical aggression images that incorporate warfare content and messages about killings and deaths that could alter the well being of children and adolescents."

The decision came after El Nacional published a photograph on its front page depicting dead bodies in a Caracas morgue. The image accompanied a news story examining Venezuela's failure to stem widespread violent crime.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jvlx_P9ghozonim6xxllHZpalLRAD9HLIJGG0

---

Activist News http://activistnews.blogspot.com

[Pavulon]

1. NOo, not che jesus...

he would never do such a thing like censor press that is critical of his agenda..

[ronnie624]

10. U.S. media are far more heavily censored than Venezuelan media.

Your gloating is hypocritical nonsense.

[bitchkitty]

25. That's his usual M.O. n/t

[sabrina 1]

13. The U.S. would never censor the press I'm sure.

How many photos from our brutal wars have appeared in the U.S. media, or even of grieving survivors?

How about not even allowing the coffins of soldiers killed in the war to be photographed?

Remember what happened to Ashley Banfield, first she was prevented from reporting what really happened on the ground? Then she was fired and ostracized for talking about it at a function which she was speaking at.

Remember Phil Donohue, highest rated show on MSNBC at the time, canceled because he was covering the real news?

And the blackout of photo-jouralism from the war front. We had to rely on Al Jazeera and Dahr Jamail and other independent journalists to get any idea of the brutality of our wars.

And the torture photos, not available for the public.

And there weren't even any investigations before these decisions were made. Just orders from the Government.

Imagine if Hugo was guilty of hiding war photos, or forbidding photographing coffins of dead soldiers?

[Judi Lynn]

15. Thanks for pointing out a few truths which have eluded a few people.

The printing, or broadcasting of total lies is wildly wrong, and it happens here on a permanent, continuous basis. We are constantly fed trash in order to keep us all from having any idea of the hideous choices and acts our own government makes in our names.pa

As someone else has pointed out, our own tax dollars get used, as proven through records, to fund propaganda in other countries to misinform people about their OWN leftist leaders, as in the case of "El Mercurio" in Chile, owned by Augustin Edwards.

Mere words have been used here to inflame and enrage the imaginations of US citizens to mold their beliefs to support unholy projects, like the grotesque misuse, and abuse of public trust in the various whoppers leading up to both Iraq wars. Calcuated pitches are made directly to bypass intelligent perception and appeal directly to irrational passions.

The use of stark imagery like these dead people, including a dead child can only be meant to traumatize readers in Venezuela who are then vulnerable to unwholesome, treacherous lies by the right-wing media. It attempts to bolster the delusional, rabid right's hate-fueled, delusional opposition to the majority's democratically elected President.

[sabrina 1]

16. Thank you, excellent post. Imho I think the biggest threat to

world peace today is the rabid rightwing elements that seem to exist everywhere, but in most civil societies are viewed as slightly insane and relegated to the sidelines of those socieities, or reside in mental institutions.

But the U.S. to its shame, has funded and empowered those insane elements both here and elsewhere, Venezuela eg, to try to destabilize governments elected by their own people.

None of it would work if there weren't always people who fall for the lies. But there is simply no excuse for anyone who has access to boards like this to not be aware of the evil that would tear down entire societies for their own profit and power.

Whenever I see comments such as the ones regularly found in threads about Venezuela, I feel hopeless about the future of this country which can produce such ignorance despite the availability of so much information. I hope that despite the U.S. and its greedy, evil designs on the resources of other nations, at least they, Venezuela, Chile and the rest of S. America will survive as democracies out from under U.S. influence forever.

[LTX]

36. "The use of stark imagery . . .

like these dead people, including a dead child can only be meant to traumatize readers in Venezuela who are then vulnerable to unwholesome, treacherous lies by the right-wing media."

My goodness, you sound like the Chief Virtue Officer of the Central Committe For The People's Own Damn Good.

Maybe the stark imagery brings attention to the epidemic of crime, something Chavez would rather avoid:

"Even by official figures, Venezuela’s murder rate is shocking. In the first 11 months of 2009, according to the interior ministry, there were 12,257 homicides. Independent experts put the figure at around 16,000 a year, more than three times as many as in 1998, the year before Mr Chávez came to power. That is a rate of around 57 per 100,000, one of the world’s highest.

The government, however, seems less concerned with reducing the crime rate than with preventing press coverage of it. The main detective corps, known as the CICPC, closed its press office years ago, forcing crime reporters to meet under a nearby tree. In response to El Nacional’s morgue photo, it announced that it would request that the paper be prosecuted for violating children’s right not to be exposed to violent images. Police officers were stationed at the morgue to prevent any repetition."

http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2010/08/crime_venezuela

[Bacchus39]

17. so you are OK with the ban on depicting blood, guns, or warfare content then?

just checking what your position is

[sabrina 1]

18. You're okay with the news media being used to help

topple a government by publishing lies?

If what is being done is intended to topple a government, it is considered treason in most countries. Here in the U.S. certain published materials considered to be obscene can be subject to prosecution.

Explain why Venezuela is any different in its decision that those photos were obscene and will conduct an investigation of the issue, just as has happened here on several occasions?

Included in our own laws regarding the banning of certain material is that the publisher has to have knowledge that what s/he is publishing may be offensive or violate laws.

I have no opinion on this case as I do not know Venezuela's laws, nor has there been an investigation to find out what the intent of the publication of four year old material was. That is their business and it seems there were many complaints about the material and the government is responding.

What I commented on was the hypocrisy of people in this country pointing fingers at perceived censorship in other countries, when they tolerate it here without even a fight. Such as some of the examples I gave.

[Bacchus39]

19. reporting on the violent reality of Caracas is a lie???

well, just like caskets, don't show them and the problem goes away right??? this Venezuelan law is definitely censorship and goes well beyond what was shown in that photo. No pics of guns allowed, no pics of blood, no "alarming" statements, no pics of agressive actions depicting war content, or messages about killings and deaths.

does that mean the media can no longer report on the abject level of murders in Caracas.

I am certain you would condemn that censorship.

[sabrina 1]

20. The photos were four years old. How does that relate

to the current situation? As far as murders, we have a pretty high rate of murder in this country but I have not seen photos from a morgue like those, in fact I think it is a violation of the rights of the dead and their families. I would definitely object to such photos if they were of any member of my family or friends. Especially a child.

If the law makes it possible to sue over such photos, I see nothing wrong with that. The court would then have to decide if the rights of the individuals in each case, superceded the public's right to know.

Mexican media has been widely criticized for using violent photos of victims of the drug war in order to frighten people. Motive is important. If the motive is not for the benefit of the public, but to harm someone, an individual or government, then the courts can decide if the use of such images has any value to the public and/or if the rights of the dead and their families were violated.

I am not in favor of banning anything, I am in favor of victims being able to sue if their privacy is invaded in such a horrible way and for such a nefarious purpose.

And the U.S. should mind its own business which badly needs minding imo. If we spent half the time we spend pointing fingers elsewhere dealing with our own problems we'd be a lot better off.

[Bacchus39]

21. the paper said it was from December, doesn't matter though, pics from any weekend would do

http://internacional.eluniversal.com/2010/07/26/suc_ava_33-muertes-violentas_26A4247651.shtml

el universal reports on homicides over the weekend every week it seems. 33 over that weekend in July. the faces were blurred in the recent El Nacional story as well. if the people stacked in that morgue were identified or identifiable, then I would agree there could be a privacy issue.

banning pics of blood, guns, and "warfare content" doesn't make the problem of violence go away.

I didn't notice any US government involvement in this either.


I assume this pic is prohibited in Venezuela now:

[sabrina 1]

22. Other sources are saying that the photos are four years old.

Regardless, as I pointed out, we banned the photos of just the coffins of dead soldiers and screamed when a war correspondent showed a picture of dead and wounded U.S. troops on the battlefield, practically threatening to bomb the news headquarters, in fact I think we did, responsible.

And the president just backed a decision to ban the release of the torture photos.

We are in no position to point fingers as I said.

[Bacchus39]

23. I recall seeing the torture photos all over the press a few years back

certainly anyone can criticize the US government ban of coffins from Iraq and Afganistan as well as the extreme censorship of that Venezuelan court decision. The US government may not be in a position to criticize the decision, but that doesn't mean individuals and all types of organizations can't criticize the decision.

[sabrina 1]

24. The torture photos you remember are only a small

percentage of what exists. They were released before there was a chance to stop them and release was condemned by the U.S. government.

Congress viewed some of the unreleased photos and even people like Lindsey Graham described his reaction to them as sickening. They reportedly confirm the charges of rape, of sodomy of young boys, children etc. The Government stepped in and banned the release of any more photos claiming they would just cause more harm, some claiming to the victims, which is true.

It went to court and has been fought there for years. A decision was made that they should be released giving the government a limited time to respond. After that, I do not know what happened. But the battle for their release did not end. And just recently this president agreed that they should not be released.

I have a feeling that if the photos showed someone we do not like perpetrating those crimes, we'd probably see them. But, there hasn't been much uproar here since Democrats took over. At least when Bush was in office Democrats were fighting these rulings. I guess it wasn't about principles after all, just politics.

Individuals are very free to criticize, you're right about that, and others are free to point out that citizens of a country that has done far, far worse things and refuses to prosecute its own criminals, don't really have much moral authority anymore, so who is going to listen to them? That is the result of living in a country with no rule of law. We need to focus on fixing our own problems and that would mean being busy 24/7 with no time to worry about Venezuela's legal system.

[Judi Lynn]

26. Sure, they never stopped bitching about the first photos, & they blocked the last group altogether.

I can run down the quote later, but it says they were selected from a series of photos taken in 2006.

That was discussed and protested for ages before they finally got the courts to back them up. The situation was entirely different as well, as they were torturing even children, and hiding it.

The Venezuelan government is not killing citizens, it is being blamed by ####ing dirtball right-wingers for the violence in Venezuela, and those old photos used as idiots' proof the government is responsible, a filthy lie.

There's a lot of additional crime in Venezuela due to the drug thing next door in Colombia, too, which, if Colombia can't manage with the OVER EIGHT BILLION the US taxpayers have been forced to give it, is certainly something the Venezuelan government can't be expected to do as cleanup for them.

As the articles say which have been posted here, the Colombian right-wing paramilitaries have been operating openly in various places in Venezuela, contracted to do "work" by Venezuelan opposition people in terrorizing and killing local leftist politicians, workers, etc.

Also, the MAYORS in individual areas in Venezuela are in charge of their own police department and there are quite a few of them who hate Chavez. It's all available for interested people willing to do research. I've posted that material here, too.

As you've noticed there are people here who have been here for YEARS who target ALL the Chavez-related threads, and other Latin American leftist president threads. You will see they repeat the same disinformation endlessly and never admit they've been proven wrong, and eventually attempt to engage people in tedious, obnoxious, nasty conversations which always go on forever, eating up precious time and foiling all real attempts at meaningful conversation among us.

The differences in the two countries and the governments and their opposition are wildly dissimilar. The photos of dead men, and children in the morgue, naked, entirely recognizable to neighbors and friends have NOTHING to do with the subjects of US torture vicitms.

Thanks for your comments. Completely sensible, don't be discouraged. Everyone knows you're on the right track, with good instincts, and total focus.

[sabrina 1]

29. I have noticed the targeting of threads that

have anything to do with Chavez. What's odd to me is that years ago, around 2002-2003 online, you would never find anyone on a progressive board who was not rooting for Chavez's and Venezuela's success. Only on rightwing Freeper blogs was Criticism of Chavez found. Much like it is here on this board now.

And speaking of Censorship, I tried to find a copy of the award-winning documentary 'The Revolution Will Not be Televised' for years and only saw it by accident on a local access station. I found out it was banned here in the U.S. after trying to find it in Video stores.

For anyone calling themselves a progressive to side with the rightwing thugs in that region of the world, and to spend their time slamming a country that should be admired for its resolve to get from under the oppression of the Multi-National thieves simply isn't believable to me.

Thanks for all you do to counter the propaganda. No one can ever say they did not have access to the facts on this board, thanks to people like you.

[EFerrari]

30. I believe that film is up at google videos. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

48. I went and got the link after seeing your post:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5832390545689805144#

The ONLY way I could see it several years ago was to get a copy from England. They just were NOT available here. That's pathetic, isn't it?

Well worth the time anyone could spend who wants to seriously watch the entire thing. Thanks for mentioning it's available on the internetS.

[Judi Lynn]

47. It was not available to any of us here! Amnesty dropped their scheduled showing of it in Vancouver

after receiving threats from the Venezuelan opposition (U.S. government-financed). Here's an article which discusses it:

Published on Saturday, November 22, 2003 by the Guardian/UK
Chavez Film Puts Staff at Risk, Says Amnesty
Recriminations after documentary on Venezuelan coup attempt is dropped from a Vancouver festival

by Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles

An award-winning documentary about the coup last year that briefly ousted the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, has become the subject of a bitter dispute. Last week, it was withdrawn from an Amnesty International (AI) film festival because Amnesty staff in Caracas said they feared for their safety if it were shown.

The film, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, was made by two Irish film makers, Kim Bartley and Donnacha O'Briain. They were preparing a documentary about Mr Chavez, with his cooperation, before the coup and were inside the presidential palace in April 2002 when the events unfolded.

The film has since been shown on television by the BBC, by RTE in Ireland, and elsewhere in Europe. This week it won two prizes at the Grierson documentary awards in Britain.

Mr Chavez was briefly removed from office by a military coup but returned to power after 48 hours. The political situation was then, and remains, highly polarized. The president as portrayed by his opponents is a dangerous, anti-US communist, while Chavez supporters see the opposition as the privileged seeking to preserve their powers from the underprivileged.

The film portrays Mr Chavez in a sympathetic light. It was shown on the public television channel in Venezuela earlier this year. The private television channels are all opposed to Mr Chavez.

Last week, the film was due to be shown at the AI film festival in Vancouver. The organizing committee came under pressure from Chavez opponents in Venezuela and eventually decided not to show it.

John Tackaberry of AI said yesterday that the decision had been taken only after Amnesty staff in Venezuela had said that, if it were shown, it would present "some degree of threat to their physical safety".

They told colleagues that, even if Amnesty ran a standard disclaimer, the organization would be associated with the film, thus endangering its staff.

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1122-10.htm

Truly pathetic, isn't it?

Progressives don't attack progressive leaders. People pretending to be progressives do!

Thank you for your comments. I always appreciate your posts.

[Name removed]

27. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Pavulon]

28. Knowledge about how he juiced in his mom and brother to posh jobs

or do you mean I dont support hugo so you dont like what I say?

[Richard D]

2. A lot of periodicals en el sur

display things that would never be put in a newspaper in this country. Stomach twisting stuff.

Nothing that isn't happening in this country already. When was the last time you saw real blood and guts in a newspaper in the US?

[Bacchus39]

3. Eli Manning's bloody head cut yesterday n/t

s

[Bacchus39]

4. link to the pics, including a close up

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/2010/08/16/2010-08-16_giants_quarterback_eli_manning_feels_fine_after_brutal_hit_in_3116_preseason_win.html

[Lucky Luciano]

6. LOL! Not even close to what they show in South America!

They show pictures of very dead fully mutilated bodies on the front page under New York Post style huge headlines like "MUERTES!"

[Bacchus39]

7. yep, seen the tabloids there. read the story though, no blood, no guns

can be shown in newspapers. it doesn't say, no disgustingly gory pics.

[Richard D]

9. Generally in full color n/t

[leveymg]

5. The CIA used the El Mercurio newschain in Chile as a conduit for violent, disturbing images as part

of the Track II destabilization operation that led up to the 9/11/73 coup.

Hard to blame Venezuela for trying to avoid a repeat of that horror show.

[Prometheus Bound]

8. The US even banned photos of soldiers' coffins for several years.

[LTX]

37. And you supported

the ban on photos of soldiers' coffins, and the censorship of photographs from the Iraq and Afgan wars? Is that your point?

[Prometheus Bound]

43. No, that wasn't my point.

But you knew that.

[LTX]

66. No, I don't know that.

What is your point?

[joshcryer]

42. Yep, and we finally got that decision overturned.

[Judi Lynn]

44. Lotta difference between photos of coffins taken being unloaded from a distance

from airplanes, and close up images of naked cadavers at the coroners' offices.

How many naked cadavers do you imagine the U.S. public would accept in GIANT photos on the front pages of U.S. newspapers, anyway, joshcryer?

And what was achieved by shoving those naked corpses in the faces of readers, anyway?

If you are shot, stabbed, run over by a car, or have choked on a buffalo wing at your neighborhood restaurant and have gone to meet the choir celestial, do YOU want the world gaping at your naked, ravaged corporeal essence on their front page as they eat their morning cereal? You might want to leave a note in your wallet requesting someone combs your hair nicely first.

The U.S. public would raise holy HELL if it happened. It would NOT go over here.

[Judi Lynn]

11. Here's the photo from the Caracas newspaper, "El Nacional:"

http://www.eldiario24.com.nyud.net:8090/uploads/editorial/2010/08/15/imagenes/86883_diiaertuiop.jpg

Why would normal people want their children to see these images? There's even a dead child in the morgue appearing in the paper.

As one of the posters already mentioned, our corporate media bowed to the government's wishes and didn't run photos of the coffins of US soldiers killed in Iraq for years after the invasion.

[Judi Lynn]

12. According to information in Lat.Am. papers, these images were taken several years ago,

so their appearance in El Nacional has NOTHING to do with El Nacional's current "news" story:

Google translation with link to the original:

Investigating daily photos of bodies
The newspaper critical of the government of Hugo Chavez took the picture in 2009
16/08/1910 - Updated : 16/08/1910 12:30 am - Drafting : [e-mail]

Caracas , Venezuela

The prosecutor said Saturday that Venezuela started an investigation against opposition daily El Nacional on Friday for publishing on its cover a photograph that appeared several corpses piled in the morgue in Caracas.

The photograph, in which we can see eleven dead bodies , mostly half-naked and on stretchers , caused angry reactions from various agencies such as the Venezuelan Scientific Police , the Ombudsman's Office and the Front of Students Against Privatization of the Central University Venezuela, Fecpucv . The latter group was the one who filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor to initiate an investigation against the newspaper.

"Photography on a series of corpses that lay at the morgue in Bello Monte Caracas (...) would have been taken years ago " and was released yesterday by the newspaper El Nacional, said the official letter .

According to the complainants , the publication of this image in large format and on the first page of the newspaper violates the right to moral and psychological integrity of children and their right to receive adequate information for comprehensive training, the state-run Agency Venezuelan News, AVN .

According to the prosecution, " the publication of the photograph " of the corpses piled in the morgue in Caracas " will be threatening or violent collective and diffuse rights of children and adolescents , "the statement said.

The image was taken in " last December , "according to the caption, and the newspaper's editor , Miguel Henrique Otero, said yesterday that published the image to "react "to the Government against the "terrible crime " that plagues Venezuela. He said the photo was taken in 2009.

"Just stand at the gates of the morgue to see what happens there , overcrowding, overflowing because the drug underworld , "said Otero told the private news channel Globovision.

The police chief scientific CICPC , Wilmer Flores, yesterday condemned the publication of the image by El Nacional and announced that he would ask Attorney to act "against the newspaper " Caracas .

The police chief argued that the image was taken in "2006 and not today "and that their content violates local laws to protect children and adolescents.

According to all polls , insecurity is the main concern of the people of Venezuela, where there is an average of 10,000 violent deaths a year , according to a police study leaked to the press in 2008. The Venezuelan authorities did not officially disclosed figures on the uncertainty at least since 2006.

http://www.laprensa.hn/Sintesis/Lo-ultimo/Ediciones/2010/08/16/Noticias/Investigan-a-diario-por-fotos-de-cadaveres

~~~~~
Also google translated:

VENEZUELA | Photo taken in 2006

The prosecution is investigating a newspaper for publishing photos of bodies
Europa Press | Caracas
Updated Sunday 15/08/2010 12:00 hours

The Office of Venezuela announced Saturday an investigation against opposition newspaper ' El Nacional ' on Friday for publishing on its cover a photograph that appeared several corpses piled in the morgue de Bello Monte , Caracas , an image was taken in 2006.

The photograph , which are 11 dead bodies , mostly naked on a stretcher , caused angry reactions from various scientific organizations such as the Venezuelan police , the The Ombudsman and the Front of Students Against the Privatization of the Central University Venezuela ( Fecpucv ). The latter group was the one who filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor to initiate an investigation against the newspaper.

According to the complainants , the publication of this image in large format and on the first page of the newspaper violates the right to moral and psychological integrity of children and their right to receive adequate information for comprehensive training, the state-run Agency Venezuelan News ( AVN ).

The Tax Office has designated 106 and its auxiliary Caracas metropolitan area to coordinate and direct the investigation. According to the complainants , ' El Nacional ' literal C had violated Article 79 of the Organic Law on Protection of Children and Adolescents ( Lopnna ) , referred to bans to protect the rights of information and a healthy environment for children.

They also point out that the newspaper allegedly violated Article 234 of the legal text associated with the performance of the media disagrees with this law.

" According to prosecutors , with the publication of that photograph would threatening or violent collective and diffuse rights of children and adolescents ", Said in a statement the Attorney

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/08/15/comunicacion/1281866269.html

~~~~~
Google translation:
Venezuelan Prosecutor starts investigation against opposition daily
Saturday, August 14, 2010

August 14, 2010 , 15:41Caracas , Aug 14 ( Prensa Latina) Venezuela's Attorney General today announced the initiation of an investigation against opposition daily El Nacional, which on Friday published a photo on the cover of several bodies in the Bello Monte Caracas morgue .

According to a press release, the research responds to the request of representatives of the Front of Students Against the Privatization of the Central University of Venezuela.

The complainants considered that the shocking image infringes the right to moral and psychological integrity of children and adolescents, the prosecutor said .

Politicians, citizens and the Ombudsman expressed his opposition to the controversial front page of El Nacional, with which its advocates accuse the government of alleged inaction against insecurity.

In addition to the alleged violation of article 79 of Law on Protection of Children and Adolescents in the arena is questioning the validity of the photograph.

According to the police chief scientific Commissioner Wilmer Flores , the image of 11 half-naked dead bodies was taken in 2006, the newspaper said the directive which corresponds to December 2009 .

It has also handled the possibility of a hoax.

The case unleashed opinions in Venezuelan society . On the one hand , who see the picture as a morbid action and political tendency , while some opposition sectors received it favorably .

For the government , the media act as political parties, and unleash a smear campaign ahead of elections next September 26.

http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_conten

~~~~~

I don't think it's likely the U.S. media was ever tempted to publish images like this. They would have been hit by a wild and furious reaction they would NEVER forget. NEVER.

~~~~~
Google translation:
15/08/2010
CONTROVERSY
Prosecutor initiated criminal investigation against El Nacional

The Public Ministry announced Saturday its decision to open an investigation against a national newspaper following the publication of a plot , which authorities say is of long standing, on a series of corpses that lay in the morgue of Monte Bello Caracas, which was broadcast on the front page

Caracas.- The controversial front-page photograph published in the newspaper El Nacional this Friday 's edition and which is a series of corpses in the morgue of Monte Bello in Caracas, forcing the Public Prosecutor to initiate an investigation.
Barely 24 hours have passed since the appearance of the graph to the announcement made yesterday at the office headed by Luisa Ortega Díaz.

Through a press release , the Office reported that the investigation was initiated at the request of representatives of the Front of Students Against the Privatization of the Central University of Venezuela to the Office of Protection of the Family of Public Prosecutions.

The newspaper published a color photo on the front page showing the morgue de Bello Monte , crammed with corpses and under a fotoleyenda in which states: " Dead without dignity.

The prosecutor and assistant 106th Metropolitan Area of Caracas, Freddy Ramon Lizcano and Lucena , respectively , will be responsible for coordinating and directing investigations into the case.

According to the complainants , the publication of the image released by The National and deployed a large, violating the right to moral and psychological integrity of children and adolescents , and to receive information according to its comprehensive training.

Legal Actions

On Friday, the Ombudsman's office went to court to protect children and adolescents to take legal action against the newspaper , arguing that it infringed the rights of this sector of the population.
That same day, the director of the Scientific , Penal and Criminal Investigations ( CICPC ) , Wilmer Flores Trosel , said the photo was taken in 2006 and would go to the Office to report the case and require that legal measures be taken against the media.

He said that in this case the paper would be playing with human pain and that those responsible would be punished by imprisonment .

Yesterday the Public Prosecutor before the Court exercised Guard Protection of Children and Adolescents of the Metropolitan Area of Caracas , a protective action , while President of the Autonomous Institute National Council of Rights of Children and Adolescents (iDEN ) Lisbell Diaz asked the prosecutor a criminal investigation. He explained that the agency will also ask an administrative action and a tax rate .

The president editor of El Nacional , Miguel Henrique Otero, reiterated the veracity of the photograph and found that it was taken on December 26, 2009 and not 2006 as stated Trosel Flores . In his view , the graph is an expression "brutal "but turn a latent reality .

The coordinator of the Bureau of Democratic Unity , Ramon Guillermo Aveledo ( MUD), held that the government had no better idea than attack the media to inform the world about the high levels of insecurity , deaths and injuries that occur in the streets of Venezuela rather than take action against this scourge.

"Far from fighting and seeking solutions to address this serious problem , it seems that the government and its representatives laugh , "said Aveledo .

According to the leader of the opposition alliance, the government, " it hurts "freedom of expression, "but not the victims of insecurity, or their families. This government is not sincere, " he said.

Challenge

The candidate for Congress for the state of Miranda , Enrique Mendoza , challenged the di -rector of the Scientific , Penal and Criminal Investigations and the Minister of Interior , to go door to door to receive the testimony of Venezuelan on the subject of insecurity. "There will realize that out of 10 respondents , at least five have been victims of violence. "

More:
http://www.eltiempo.com.ve/noticias/default.asp?id=345836



Manuel Sucre, El Nacional, you're doing a heck of a job. Everyone will ALWAYS remember your fight for
the welfare of the poor, the helpless, the downtrodden. What a flipping bunch of humanitarians you are.

[boppers]

33. Was it 2009, or 2006?

Your sources differ.

Also, who was president of Venezuela in 2006? 2009?

...

[Judi Lynn]

45. Clearly La Prensa erred, as later in the article it states:

""Photography on a series of corpses that lay at the morgue in Bello Monte Caracas (...) would have been taken years ago " and was released yesterday by the newspaper El Nacional, said the official letter.

"Also, who was president of Venezuela in 2006? 2009?"

What would be your guess?

[Prometheus Bound]

14. Well, okay, I guess that's just the most disgusting newspaper cover I could ever imagine.

That's just beyond all reason.

[NYC Liberal]

31. Do you support:

"our corporate media bowed to the government's wishes and didn't run photos of the coffins of US soldiers killed in Iraq for years after the invasion"

because

"Why would normal people want their children to see these images?"

?

[Phil The Cat]

40. Protecting children from violent images is BAD?

They will see enough ugliness throughout their life!

Kudos to Venezula for respecting and preserving the innocence of youth! And for not allowing the greedy counter-revolutionaries to visually assault their citizens with needlessly shocking images used only to attack the authority of the government!

Just because they have freedom of speech does not give them the right to attack peace and stability with lies and visual violence (ala Faux Newsish)!

[boppers]

32. Why would Chavez want to hide things like this?

Might it affect public opinion?

[sabrina 1]

34. Why would the U.S. want to hide photos of the coffins of dead

soldiers?

Why would they want to hide the torture photos?

Why was Ashley Banfield's career destroyed when she simply told people what she saw in Afghanistan?

Why was the Donohue Show taken off the air when it was the most popular show on MSNBC at the time?

Why was Bill Maher's 'Politically Correct' show removed from the air when all he was doing was being politically incorrect?

Why have Paul Craig Roberts and Robert Sheer both respected journalists, been fired and banned from the MSM?

Why do some of our best investigative journalists have to go to the BBC to get work because they cannot work in the U.S.?

Why don't we see photos of the civilians we kill in Iraq and Afghanistan in our press an on our media?

Why are Americans citizens prevented by their government from traveling to countries like Cuba?

Might all these things affect public opinion?

And why are we so concerned with breath taken in Venezuela by its government when we are far from a free country right now?

Is it because the $4 million dollars being spent for anti-Venzuelan propaganda by the U.S. is working? Just like the PR that cost hundreds of millions to sell a war in another Oil-Producing nation?

And why do Americans fall for this softening up of the population to gain their support for illegal occupations, or proxy wars against oil producing nations that kill millions of innocents people over and over again?

Especially people on the left who I once thought were smarter than people on the right.

[boppers]

35. Good points.

Oddly enough, there is authoritarian left, and anarchist left.

For various reasons, I cannot support the former.

[LTX]

38. So your point is

that you're in favor of:

-- Hiding the torture photos?

-- The destruction of Ashley Banfield's career when she simply told people what she saw in Afghanistan?

-- The removal of the Donohue Show when it was the most popular show on MSNBC at the time?

-- The removal of Bill Maher's 'Politically Correct' show from the air when all he was doing was being politically incorrect?

-- The firing and banning of Paul Craig Roberts and Robert Sheer from the MSM?

-- The resort to the BBC for work by some of our best investigative journalists because they cannot work in the U.S.?

-- The suppression of photos of the civilians we kill in Iraq and Afghanistan in our press an on our media?

-- The ban on Americans citizens travelling to Cuba?

[joshcryer]

41. The logic is: "If the US does it, it's OK to do it too, unless I don't like it."

"But then it's the US' fault that it exists."

[Judi Lynn]

49. What do you imagine you're saying? Clearly she didn't. There's no grey area there.

Why not consider doing enough research and thinking you can make a positive contribution, increase the information most DU'ers come here to discover, or to share?

We just don't have enough time to indulge people who want to come here to take pot shots at progressives. This is a PROGRESSIVE message board.

[LTX]

56. My goodness --

Such righteous indignation. Such urgency. Actually, I have no idea what point was being made. That's why I asked. There seems to be some kind of loose analogy there about the US being bad, so Venezuela has every right to be bad too, I guess. If that's not it, then maybe you could explain what the point actually is, since no one else seems able to.

As for the o/p and the banning of photographs, do you have any comment about what appears to be the real reason behind the ban? I.e., the rampant violence in Venezuela. I would think you'd have some concerns about the government trying to silence the messenger instead of tackling the crime problem itself. And that you'd have some concerns about the underlying reason or cause for the extraordinary increase in crime during Chavez' tenure. After all, the murder rate in Venezuela dwarfs the rates in Mexico and even Iraq. What do you think is the reason for it?

[Judi Lynn]

59. Standing by my post. It's easy to grasp. This is a place for people who come here

to exchange information with each other. Progressives.

[Judi Lynn]

46. Whom did Hugo Chavez napalm, boppers? Where is he murdering entire villages?

Your writing challenges us to reach deep inside ourselves. You are a moral beacon in a dark, dark night. We look to you for your startling insights.

As for altering public opinion, do you imagine the Venezuelan public perceives the naked closeups of cadavers taken in 2006 are people Hugo Chavez has killed?

Was it Hugo Chavez who ordered the military to fire into crowds of protesting Venezuelan citizens, murdering 3000 of them? No, that was Carlos Andres Perez, the Venezuelan President the Venezuelan oligarchy and United States LOVED, who stole millions and millions from the Venezuelan citizens and was impeached before he could leave office.

[boppers]

50. Would Perez have completely censored the media if he could have?

This is about more than Chavez, it's about government using media restrictions to shape and control opinion.

[Judi Lynn]

51. We all know almost ALL Vene. print news is owned by the opposition and they are wildly vicious.

Don't you EVER attempt to know about the subjects you're trying to discuss? What's the hold-up? You can't just "wing it." You HAVE to know what you're talking about, unless you're laboring under the impression you can bully progressive people into submission and they won't have the nerve to point out you're wildly ignorant.

What is the Venezuelan News Media Actually Like?
by Andrew Kennis
Jul 15 2008

Listening to accounts by the U.S. news media and to the public postures taken by the Bush administration, one would think that there is no freedom of expression in Venezuela. The impression most U.S. citizens have is that the media is virtually under direct state control. Independent reporting, free from the government’s fiery rhetoric, has been noticeably absent. A careful and sober account of Venezuelan media that focuses on the most basic and uncontroversial facts of what constitutes the Venezuelan media today has been non-existent in mainstream U.S. media (and even in many independent sources as well). Such reporting could present a more accurate picture of the actual situation of freedom of expression in Venezuela.

~snip~
News reports published in the U.S. sometimes contradicted themselves with conflicting facts and unquestioned characterizations. In an analysis from the Houston Chronicle, one of the longer and more comprehensive think-pieces on the RCTV issue, Chávez’s actions were described as a “frontal assault on freedom of the press.” In the same piece, it was interestingly admitted toward the end of the article that, “RCTV and other stations … are owned by some of Venezuela’s wealthiest families began playing an overt political role” following Chavez’s initial landside electoral victory in 1998. Further noted, was the fact that “the Chavez government has the legal right not to renew RCTV’s license,” characterizations that would seemingly clash with the unquestionably reported “frontal assault” description that led the article (Houston Chronicle, 05/27/07).

Polls supposedly revealing deep opposition and “widespread disagreement” to Chavez’s decision were routinely cited out of context (Romero, NYT, 05/27/07), often without any reference to the fact that most, “viewers in survey expressed little concern about losing access to RCTV’s anti-Chavez news programs … instead … complained about missing the station’s soap operas and game shows – like the Venezuelan version of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.’” This latter piece of information, however, was a buried item in and of itself and appeared toward the end of the article (Houston Chronicle, 5/27/07).

To be sure, the RCTV “closure” is a complex one, and there are many different perspectives that should be presented. But the issue never received the subtle and careful treatment it deserved in U.S. media coverage (again, see the sidebar for links to FAIR for more information on this point). More importantly, the obsessive focus on the RCTV issue effectively shut out any substantial attention to a key question that would have gone far in settling many of the points of disagreement in that debate.

Analyses Found in Independent News Media

Far different depictions, noticeably absent in mainstream coverage, were found in independent news sources.

Writing for the Nation, Mark Weisbrot, who is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, characterized Venezuela as having “the most anti-government media in the hemisphere” (12/06/06). Eva Golinger, a Venezuelan-American lawyer and prominent critic of U.S. foreign policy, wrote that, “You turn on any of the channels here and you’ll see that there’s more freedom of expression enjoyed in Venezuela than probably anywhere else in the world. It’s the only place where they can go on television and talk about killing the president, or saying the most derogatory and offensive things on a news hour” (interview on Z-Net, 2005). PR Watch refers to the “... former AP correspondent in Venezuela Bart Jones, dismisses the criticism of the RCTV non-renewal as the result of a ‘web of misinformation,’” and instead maintains that RCTV “should not be seen as free-speech martyrs. Radio, TV and newspapers remain uncensored, unfettered and unthreatened by the government. Most Venezuelan media are still controlled by the old oligarchy and are staunchly anti-Chavez.”

Contrasting points and analyses such as these beg the question: what is the actual composition of the Venezuelan media in terms of its ownership and editorial positioning toward the Chávez administration? Indeed, some characterizations in the U.S. news media described RCTV as being: “one of two that presented opposing views of President Hugo Chavez’s rule” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 10/23/07). However, the facts show otherwise.

More:
http://www.mediaaccuracy.org/node/62

~~~~~

HOW HATE MEDIA INCITED THE COUP AGAINST THE PRESIDENT

Venezuela’s press power
Never even in Latin American history has the media been so directly involved in a political coup. Venezuela’s ’hate media’ controls 95% of the airwaves and has a near-monopoly over newsprint, and it played a major part in the failed attempt to overthrow the president, Hugo Chávez, in April. Although tensions in the country could easily spill into civil war, the media is still directly encouraging dissident elements to overthrow the democratically elected president - if necessary by force.
by Maurice Lemoine

"We had a deadly weapon: the media. And now that I have the opportunity, let me congratulate you." In Caracas, on 11 April 2002, just a few hours before the temporary overthrow of Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chávez, Vice-Admiral Victor Ramírez Pérez congratulated journalist Ibéyiste Pacheco live on Venevision television. Twenty minutes earlier, when Pacheco had begun to interview a group of rebel officers, she could not resist admitting, conspiratorially, that she had long had a special relationship with them.

At the same time, in a live interview from Madrid, another journalist, Patricia Poleo, also seemed well informed about the likely future development of "spontaneous events". She announced on the Spanish channel TVE: "I believe the next president is going to be Pedro Carmona." Chávez, holed up in the presidential palace, was still refusing to step down.

After Chávez came to power in 1998, the five main privately owned channels - Venevisión, Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV), Globovisión and CMT - and nine of the 10 major national newspapers, including El Universal, El Nacional, Tal Cual, El Impulso, El Nuevo País, and El Mundo, have taken over the role of the traditional political parties, which were damaged by the president’s electoral victories. Their monopoly on information has put them in a strong position. They give the opposition support, only rarely reporting government statements and never mentioning its large majority, despite that majority’s confirmation at the ballot box. They have always described the working class districts as a red zone inhabited by dangerous classes of ignorant people and delinquents. No doubt considering them unphotogenic, they ignore working class leaders and organisations.

More:
http://mondediplo.com/2002/08/10venezuela

~~~~~

Media Falls Short on Iraq, Venezuela
By Mark Weisbrot
Distributed to newspapers by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services
June 6, 2004

Last week the New York Times published an 1100-word note "From the Editors" criticizing its own reporting on the build-up to the Iraq war and the early stages of the occupation. On Sunday the newspaper's Public Editor went further, citing "flawed journalism" and stories that "pushed Pentagon assertions so aggressively you could almost sense epaulets sprouting on the shoulders of editors."

This kind of self-criticism is important, because the media played an important role in convincing the American public -- and probably the Congress as well -- that the war was justified. Unfortunately, these kinds of mistakes are not limited to the New York Times -- or to reporting on Iraq.

Venezuela is a case in point. The Bush administration has been pushing for "regime change" in Venezuela for years now, painting a false and exaggerated picture of the reality there. As in the case of Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction and links to Al-Qaeda, the Administration has gotten a lot of help from the media.

Reporting on Venezuela relies overwhelmingly on opposition sources, many of them about as reliable as Ahmed Chalabi. Although there are any number of scholars and academics -- both Venezuelan and international -- who could offer coherent arguments on the other side, their arguments almost never appear. For balance, we usually get at most a poor person on the street describing why he likes Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, or a sound bite from Chavez himself denouncing "imperialist intervention."

Opposition allegations are repeated constantly, often without rebuttal, and sometimes reported as facts. At the same time, some of the most vital information is hardly reported or not reported at all. For example, the opposition's efforts to recall President Chavez hit a snag in March when more than 800,000 signatures for the recall were invalidated. These signatures were not thrown out but were sent to a "repair process," currently being tallied, in which signers would get a second chance to claim invalidated signatures.

The opposition accused President Chavez of trying to illegitimately deny the people's right to a referendum, and the press here has overwhelmingly echoed this theme. But some vital facts were omitted from the story: the disputed signatures were in violation of the electoral rules, and could legitimately have been thrown out altogether. Furthermore, these rules -- requiring signers to fill out their own name, address and other information -- were well-known to organizers on both sides and publicized in advance of the signature gathering process.1 These rules are also common in the United States, including California.

But readers of the U.S. and international press would not know this. And few would know that the members of Venezuela's National Electoral Commission -- which is supervising the election -- was appointed by the Supreme Court, with opposition leaders applauding the appointments.2

Even worse than most news stories on Venezuela are the editorials of major newspapers, where factual errors have become commonplace. The Washington Post has accused Chavez of holding political prisoners and having "muzzled the press,"3 and referred to the Electoral Commission as "Mr. Chavez' appointees."4 All of these allegations are incontestably false.

According to the U.S. State Department, "There (are) no reports of political prisoners in Venezuela."5 And far from being "muzzled," the press in Venezuela is one of the most furiously partisan anti-government medias in the entire world. Two months ago one of Venezuela's most influential newspapers actually used a doctored version of a New York Times' article to allege that the Chavez government was implicated in the Madrid terrorist bombing!6 But the media has never been censored by the Chavez government.7

More:
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/testimony/democracy-venezuela/

~~~~~

Media In Venezuela: Facts and Fiction
Written by Caitlin McNulty and Liz Migliorelli
Monday, 17 August 2009 09:36

~snip~
Print media in Venezuela is diverse, but it depicts a greater opposition presence than seen in television networks. Many publications are corporate-owned and extremely critical of the Chávez administration. In comparison to the United States, where New York, the largest city, has only four daily papers (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Daily News), two of which are markedly sympathetic to the Bush administration, Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, has twenty-one daily papers. Whereas the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Washington Post are the only nationally distributed daily papers in the United States, Venezuela circulates eight daily papers nationally. A Washington D.C. based think-tank Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) has described the print media situation in simple terms: "nine out of ten newspapers, including (the most prestigious daily) El Nacional and (the business oriented) El Universal, are staunchly anti-Chávez." 7

More:
http://upsidedownworld.org/main/venezuela-archives-35/2059--media-in-venezuela-facts-and-fiction

~~~~~

Media, Propaganda and Venezuela
Author and Page informationby Anup ShahThis Page Last Updated Saturday, September 02, 2006

~snip~
Reporting on the ongoing issues, such as the protests and Chavez’s economic policies in Venezuela have shown similar signs of one-sidedness, from both the mainstream media of western countries such as the U.S. and U.K., and from Venezuela’s own elite anti-Chavez media, which “controls 95% of the airwaves and has a near-monopoly over newsprint, and … played a major part in the failed attempt to overthrow the president, Hugo Chavez, in April 2002…. The media is still directly encouraging dissident elements to overthrow the democratically elected president—if necessary by force.”

Charles Hardy, who lived in Venezuela for some 19 years and worked with the poor notes that “A great difference exists between what one reads in the U.S. newspapers and what one hears in the barrios and villages of Venezuela, places where the elite do not tread. Adults are entering literacy programs, senior citizens are at last receiving their pensions, and children are not charged registration to enter the public schools. Health care and housing have improved dramatically.” Reading mainstream versions, you would not get this picture. Hardy also notes a number of themes of the Venezuelan and U.S. elite that both do not like Chavez:

In 1998, Hugo Chavez was elected president with almost 60 percent of the votes, incredibly overthrowing the entrenched and well-financed elite that had controlled the country for decades. That elite has never forgiven him and today is doing everything possible to tumble him. Sadly, the U.S. government and mass media have joined in this very undemocratic effort.

Their accusations have some common themes. First, Chavez is a communist because of his close association with Cuba. Is George W. Bush a communist because the U.S. has close ties with China?
…
A second accusation is that Chavez is a dictator and will limit freedom of expression very shortly. This has been said since 1998 when he was just a candidate for the presidency. To date, there is not one deprecating word against Chavez that has not been printed or spoken.

But I have government-censored Venezuelan dailies, before the time of Chavez, with blank pages.

Third, it is said that Chavez opposes the forthcoming Aug. 15 presidential referendum that could oust him from power. The reality is that it is the opposition that rejected the idea of the referendum and has done everything possible to avoid it: the two-day coup; a two-month lockout/strike by big business and by many well-paid executives and workers in the national petroleum industry; and, millions spent on media campaigns against him.

Chavez himself proposed the idea of a presidential referendum midway through the term and has constantly voiced it as the constitutional way to remove him.

Fourth, international news releases often refer to Chavez as “a former lieutenant colonel who led a failed bloody rebellion in 1992.” This would be similar to continuously identifying President Bush as “a former National Guard captain who avoided service in Vietnam and had a bout with alcoholism in his youth.”

About 12 militants died in the rebellion. What is not mentioned is the multitude that had been shot down on the streets by the Perez government before and after that attempt. Perez was impeached in 1993 and now lives in New York

More:
http://www.globalissues.org/article/403/media-propaganda-and-venezuela

[boppers]

53. "wildly vicious"

No propaganda there.

:sarcasm:

[Judi Lynn]

52. Censored the media? The Venezuelan media stood 100% BEHIND that piece of filth.

Do you think a man who would order his military to fire directly into the crowds of Venezuelan citizens protesting his hideous, barbaric cost increases, to drop them all where they stood would be a man to hang back "censoring?"

You need to practise a some unfamiliar, difficult self-discipline. Force yourself to think things over, don't keep spewing the pure crap you're consuming from right-wing sources. It's pure filth. It doesn't even resemble honest communication.

[boppers]

54. It helps to not be a channel for filth.

Mirrors are good things.

[ProudDad]

63. Chavez wouldn't

only a clueless idiot would make the comparison...

[AngryAmish]

39. mistranslation again...

[Judi Lynn]

55. Interesting information I just discovered a little late, but I would have found it, anyway,

sooner or later.

Here's the reference to Caracas' virulently rabidly anti-Chavez ex-mayor Pena:

Community TV Illegally Shut Down in Venezuela
17 Jul 2003 16:49 GMT

The Caracas metropolitan police raided and shut down Community Catia TV this week. The police are controlled by mayor Alfredo Pena, an enemy of democratically elected President Hugo Chavez. Catia TV is an alternative media project from a poor neighborhood which denounces the continuous conspiracies of the Venezuelan oligarchy, allied with the US and Spanish Governments, to overthrow the democratic regime. Their reports on corruption scandals and the fascist methods of the oligarchs angered mayor Pena and prompted him to brutally raid and silence this alternative media without a judicial order.

Pena - who happens to be the owner of a major Venezuelan newspaper, El Nacional - was one of the leaders of the failed, CIA-backed military coup that overthrew President Chavez for only one day in April 2002. The following day, the Caracas poor, who enthusiastically support Chavez, descended from the shantytowns located on the hills, defeated the plotters with the help of loyal troops and saved the President's life.

Messages of protest can be sent to mayor Pena.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:s0ee_QD37dgJ:www.indymedia.org/en/2003/07/109249.shtml+Catia+tv+closed+Alfredo+Pena&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Small world, isn't it?


As you can imagine, it's not the PRESIDENT of Venezuela who's in charge of the cities' police departments, and their law enforcement, but rather the MAYORS of those places, and as in the case of Caracas, it's easy to see at a glance what kind of MAYOR Caracas has had as the head of its law enforcement.

[LTX]

57. Interesting.

So you think that the astronomical increases in crime during Chavez' tenure are the fault of the local mayors, and that all that's needed is better policing? The people of Venezuela seem to be holding Chavez responsible, not the mayors, which isn't really surprising, since the crime epidemic is national in scope. Furthermore:

"(S)ome crime specialists say another factor has to be considered: Chavez’s government itself. The judicial system is increasingly politicized, losing independent judges and aligning itself with the President’s political movement. Many experienced state employees have had to leave public service, or even the country.

Henrique Capriles, governor of Miranda, a state encompassing parts of Caracas, told reporters last week Chavez worsened the problem by cutting funds for state and city governments led by political opponents, then removing thousands of guns from their police forces after losing regional elections."

http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/world-mainmenu-26/south-america-mainmenu-37/4393-murder-out-of-control-in-latin-america

[Judi Lynn]

58. Look at your source, owned by the John Birch society. I'll take the next elevator, thanks. n/t

[LTX]

60. Oops. You're right.

I didn't investigate the publisher, and I certainly didn't intend to rely on a Birch publication. But of course, there are numerous other sources with the same crime statistics, and I take it you're not denying those. So, as someone who claims great expertise, what do you think is the underlying cause of the country's astronomical increase in crime during Chavez' tenure?

[Judi Lynn]

61. Don't try to bait me. That's not straightforward, is it? n/t

[LTX]

62. I'm not baiting you.

I can be terribly satiric at times, I readily confess. But there's a great deal of speculation about the reasons for the crime increase, and frankly, I have yet to hear a thoroughly convincing one. So, my tendencies aside, I'd like to hear what you think.

[ProudDad]

64. The USAmerikan client state, Columbia

has a murder rate that dwarfs Venezuela:

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita

What do you think is the underlying cause of Columbia's INSANE increase in murders since the U.S. made it a client?

And, of course, the U.S. is WAY ahead of Venezuela (and nearly everyone else) in the number of assaults (just behind Zimbabwe), murders with firearms (The U.S. is right up there with South Africa and Columbia), total crimes per capita, and that old standby - NUMBER ONE in prisoners per capita (WAY ahead of number 2, Russia)!

What do you think is the underlying cause of USAmerika's horrendous crime rate when compared with the civilized world?

[LTX]

65. I have no idea. And of course, that's not the topic.

Though this kind of "look over there" tactic seems to be an epidemic when talking about Venezuela. I don't know what its purpose is, other than to concede that Venezuela suffers exactly the same problems as other countries, and often suffers them in greater quantities.

As for murder rates, Venezuela is no shirker:

There have been 43,792 homicides in Venezuela since 2007, according to the violence observatory, compared with about 28,000 deaths from drug-related violence in Mexico since that country’s assault on cartels began in late 2006.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/world/americas/23venez.html?_r=1

And Caracas has a frankly astonishing murder rate:

200 per 100,000 people in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital
22.7 per 100,000 people in Bogotá, Colombia’s capital
14 per 100,000 in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38812149/ns/world_news-the_new_york_times/

There seems to be a marked reluctance to face these facts about Venezuela around here, most likely because there is a vested interest in holding Venezuela out as a universal socialist success story. I've asked several times what folks think the underlying reason is for these rather astonishing increases in crime during Chavez' tenure, and no one seems willing to even venture a guess.

[ProudDad]

67. More good News From Venezuela

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4507789#4508054

Woohoo!