Chavez opponent charged for on-air remarks calling Venezuela a drug haven

Chavez opponent charged for televised remarks

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan prosecutors charged a government opponent with conspiracy and other crimes Friday after he said on a television program that the country has become a haven for drug trafficking.

Former Zulia state Gov. Oswaldo Alvarez Paz is accused of spreading false information and publicly inciting violation of the law.

“Venezuela has turned into a center of operations that facilitates the business of drug trafficking,” Alvarez said on a television talk show last month, adding Friday that he stands by his remark and has broken no laws.

Critics accuse President Hugo Chavez of growing increasingly intolerant and of using the judicial system to harass and in some cases imprison opponents.

Chavez denies holding sway over prosecutors and insists Venezuela has a democracy where multiple viewpoints are welcome. Yet he has also called for authorities to act when people spread false information that he says is aimed at destabilizing his government.

Chavez has taken a hard line in demanding scrutiny of Globovision, the channel on which Alvarez spoke and the lone stridently anti-Chavez outlet on the television airwaves. Globovision faces multiple investigations by government regulators for alleged violations of broadcast regulations.