Garcia called the Venezuelan government "abusive" and accused it of threatening the media daily. Journalists in Venezuela have been threatened and shot at while covering clashes between pro- and anti-government protesters in the last year. Garcia called attempts by the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to impose a media content law as "nothing short of censorship of the press, while it continues to tighten restrictions on the major television networks." He announced that the IAPA will send a fact-finding mission to Venezuela soon.
Garcia also criticized the Cuban government for the recent arrest of a group of journalists, and expressed concern over Haiti, "where violence against the press continues especially to silence the few voices of dissident radio stations." Garcia cited new types of threats to the press, especially the electronic media. He referred to the upcoming World Summit on the Information Society, which he compared to UNESCO-sponsored New World Information and Communication Order in the 1970s. "This time they are indirectly trying to control the media, especially Internet and electronic media, under the precept that the world is experiencing a transition from the industrial society of the 20th century to information society of the 21st century," he said. ***