To justify the suspension of RCTVi by the cable companies, Minister Diosdado Cabello resorts to various arguments. He started by claiming that RCTVi needed to comply with the limitations and regulations imposed on national television companies, as it had broadcast a high percentage of locally produced content during the four months leading up to December 22, 2009, when the new regulations were published and enforced.
Interestingly, during the described four-month period, RCTVi could have aired 100% of national production content, since there were no laws at that time regulating the permitted percentages of national versus international content, meaning there were no limitations in this respect. The insistence on retroactive application of the law during the four months before its enactment violates the principle of non-retroactivity of the law.
In response to national and international condemnation for violating this universally accepted principle, the government argued that CONATEL (the media regulatory body in Venezuela) did not close any channel; instead, it was the cable companies that decided to remove RCTVi’s signal from their programming.
It was evident to all, as reflected in the OAS statement, that the government threatened cable operators if they did not eliminate non-compliant TV companies from their programming. These companies, without written notices and in total absence of administrative or judicial processes, surrendered to government pressure. This sets a serious precedent for human rights in Venezuela, as the government used private companies as tools of repression.
Finally, despite RCTVi having completed the legal procedures with CONATEL on January 13, 2010, just two days before the established deadline, the government tried to justify its decision by arguing that RCTVi had not presented itself before the regulatory body, “adopting an arrogant stance.” On February 8, RCTVi resubmitted the required documentation, this time with legal counsel from CONATEL, which officially acknowledged receipt of the documents for the second time.
On February 11, CONATEL responded to RCTVi, accepting that RCTVi indeed submitted the necessary processes and documentation on the described dates. However, it ruled that RCTVi was classified as a national broadcaster based on programming aired between September 22 and December 21, 2009, applying the law retroactively, which is illegal and unconstitutional.
Thus, it is clear, firstly, that Minister Cabello’s argument that RCTVi did not go to CONATEL to submit documentation was incorrect. Secondly, the decision to classify RCTVi as a national broadcaster instead of an international one is still based on a retroactive application of the law. Thirdly, Minister Cabello’s intention has always been to exert undue pressure on cable operators to remove RCTVi’s signal from their programming.
We continue the fight to regain the open signal that was illegally taken from us, with the certainty that soon we will once again be able to provide information and entertainment to millions of Venezuelans…