...On Hurricane 'Hugo' Chavez's funeral march towards totalitarianism...whilst tooting Castro's little red horn.

Venezuela TV Broadcasts Stolen Interview

CARACAS, Venezuela -- A private television news station gets an exclusive interview with a mayor hiding from an arrest warrant. Somehow, the program airs first on Venezuela's state-owned television station.

While the interview broke no new ground, the case is fueling allegations that the government of President Hugo Chavez has stepped up efforts to stifle press freedoms and dissent.

"They are trying to break us -- let us know that we are being spied upon," said Maria Fernanda Flores, vice president of Globovision, the 24-hour news network that interviewed Henrique Capriles.

"That's what they want to do to us, and they are mistaken. Our morale won't be broken by the stupidities of common criminals," Flores said Thursday.

Chavez has threatened on several occasions to close Globovision and Venezuela's three other private TV networks for allegedly inciting rebellion against his leftist government.

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Hat tip to Rantburg