Chavez pulls plug on opposition-aligned TV station

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Venezuela will not renew the license of an opposition-aligned TV station when it expires next year, President Hugo Chavez said Thursday, accusing the broadcaster of backing plots to topple him. Chavez, who was re-elected by a wide margin Dec. 3, said in a speech to troops that the head of Radio Caracas Television, Marcel Granier, was mistaken in believing "that concession is eternal." "The television concession runs out on him in March," Chavez said. "So he had best start packing his bags and seeing what he's going to do after March. There will be no new concession for that coup-plotting television channel named Radio Caracas Television." The channel, also known as RCTV, is among a number of private TV and radio networks that in recent years have strongly criticized Chavez's government and favored the opposition.