[SweetCaroline]

Anti-Chavez media mogul seeks international justice
Posted: 10 July 2010 1559 hrs


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Guillermo Zuloaga





CARACAS : Globovision TV boss Guillermo Zuloaga, who ran afoul of President Hugo Chavez earlier this year and has fled arrest on criminal charges, said he has put his case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

"We've come here seeking justice since we can't find it in Venezuela," Zuloaga told Globovision from Washington on Friday, where CIDH is headquartered and where he has been hiding.

Zuloaga, 67, disappeared after a Caracas court issued an arrest warrant June 11 in connection with storing vehicles to resell them at higher prices -- besides the fiercely critical Globovision TV network, Zuloaga owns a car dealership.

Zuloaga insists "Chavez ordered our arrest" on trumped up charges.

The media mogul's real troubles began with his arrest in March for statements he made in the Dutch island of Aruba that the Venezuelan government deemed false and offensive to Chavez. He was ordered not to leave the country at the time.

CIDH officials in the US capital confirmed to AFP that Zuloaga's lawyer filed a complaint "regarding freedom of speech" with the commission on Thursday. They said the case would now proceed in the usual manner.

Zuloaga's arrest warrant has been criticized both in Venezuela and abroad. The US State Department said it was "seriously concerned" with "the latest example of the government of Venezuela's continuing assault on the freedom of the press."

Chavez recently rejected the criticism and stressed that the court's decision to go after Zuloaga has nothing to do with Globovision's editorial stance.

- AFP/jm