The following is a press release from Freedom House, an “independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights”:

In response to both the harassment and controls over Venezuelan and foreign reporters by Venezuelan authorities, including the brief detention of journalists from the broadcasters NTN24 and Telemundo on June 15, 2017, Freedom House issued the following statement:

“Given the government’s tight control of Venezuela’s television broadcasters, radio stations, and print and online publications, the importance of foreign correspondents in the country is all the greater if Venezuelans are to have meaningful information about political developments,” said Carlos Ponce, director of Latin American programs at Freedom House. “The detention of a reporter and two cameramen working for foreign outlets, and the demand that they erase what they had videoed during protests in the Caracas subway against President Maduro, demonstrate the government’s fear of its citizens and of independent accounts of weeks of protests. The National Telecommunications Commission has blocked broadcasts of demonstrations since at least 2014, and has ordered local cable and satellite services to block a growing list of news channels, including NTN24, CNN en Espanol, and TV Azteca.”

Venezuela is rated Not Free in Freedom in the World 2017, and Not Free in Freedom of the Press 2017, and Partly Free in Freedom on the Net 2016.