The Chávez government has arrested former Zulia Governor Oswaldo Álvarez Paz “on charges of conspiracy, spreading false information and inciting hatred.” What Álvarez Paz did was go on television and state the obvious: That drug traffickers are operating more or less openly from Venezuelan soil with either the active or passive cooperation of the Venezuelan military.
Chávez did not like this, so he went on TV before a gathering of the party faithful to denounce Álvarez Paz. A week or so later, Álvaro Paz was arrested, Venezuelan intelligence service officials appearing at his house to take him into custody, as you can see in this video.
But come on, you say. What kind of an oppressive government allows a television station to film the arrest of a political prisoner? I’ll tell you. The kind whose legislature demands criminal charges be filed against the owner of said television station for denouncing the oppression of free speech in Venezuela (oh, the irony).
Maybe he and Álvarez Paz can be political prisoner cell mates.
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[...] the airwaves a second time, threatened to hold Web portals responsible for their commenters, and arrested politician Oswaldo Álvarez Paz for statements he made about Chávez and drug [...]