Hurricane Hugo
(AP)
According to various news reports, Chavez – who has already has shut down one popular TV network, with another in his crosshairs – announced he is going to sue CNN International for placing his image next to Osama bin Laden during a recent news package.
[Venezuelan] Information Minister, William Lara, showed a press conference what he said was CNN footage of Mr. Chavez juxtaposed with images of Osama bin Laden, saying: “CNN broadcast a lie which linked President Chavez to violence and murder." He also accused CNN of dishonesty for using footage of a Mexican demonstration in a story about the current Venezuelan disturbances.CNN has already aired a correction and apologized for the Mexican footage, adding that it is not “engaged in a campaign to discredit or attack Venezuela.” To the contrary, CNN was actually singled out for praise by Hugo Chavez in 2003, when he lauded their coverage of his standing up to a coup. (A coup fomented, in part, by the Radio Caracas Television network he just took off the air.)
