Venezuela Detains Technicians as Chavez Silenced, Nacional Says
June 25 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- Venezuela's police detained six technicians from the country's largest private television and radio stations after President Hugo Chavez's nationwide speech commemorating the Battle of Carabobo couldn't be transmitted because of technical problems, El Nacional reported.
The six were held for questioning for two hours and then released, the newspaper said, citing officials from the stations. Private television officials said the blackout was caused by technical problems with the state television company, which was re- broadcasting the signal to its private counterparts.
We don't have complete information,'' Information Minister Nora Uribe was cited by the paper as saying. We are investigating because this never happened before.''
Chavez's frequent and lengthy televised speeches have come under fire from critics, who say they intentionally disrupt regular programming for political purposes. The Battle of Carabobo was the decisive battle in Venezuela's fight for independence from Spain. All government offices, banks and markets were closed yesterday for a national holiday.
(EN 6/25 A1) To see El Nacional's Web site, click on {NCNL