The United States questions the closure of almost 100 stations in Venezuela

The official Twitter account of the ambassador of United States for VenezuelaJames Story, questioned the closure of almost 100 radio stations in that country.

(Read here: Why Nicolas Maduro does not travel to Colombia to meet Gustavo Petro?)

“What do they not want you to hear? Why do they need to close the spaces to Venezuelans? Freedom of expression and access to information are the cornerstones of democracy and a functioning society“.

The questions from US diplomacy come days after it became known that a total of 86 issuers have been closed throughout 2022 by order of the telecommunications authority (Conatel).

The entity alleges the expiration of concessions, a fact that was widely denounced by the main syndicate of the press when it warned of an “arbitrary action.”

The closure of the stations affects 16 of the 24 states of the country, with Zulia (west) being the most affected with 26.

In many of the cases the cessation of transmissions was not publicly reported because the owners of the stations fear “retaliation” or try to negotiate with the regulatory authority.

According to industry sources, more than 80% of television and radio stations have gone through a concession renewal process this year.

INTERNATIONAL WRITING
TIME