The U.S. Congress has decided to fund broadcasts into Venezuela, similar to efforts in the Arab World, to 'neutralize' Telesur's 'anti-American and anti-freedom rhetoric.' Venezuela's President, for his part, has promised to wage a 'merciless electronic war against the United States.'

Chavez on a Recent Visit to Uruguay

The extremely tense relationship between the United States and Venezuela encountered new complications last week when a new television network, broadcast from Caracas, was launched to “combat interference from American imperialism in Latin America.”

“Telesur” - that’s what the network is called - aims to cover, and broadcast over “half the planet,” cultural news, sports, documentaries and various news in South America to “torpedo” an American media project aimed specifically at the Venezuelan public.

Officially adopted by the U.S. Congress a few days ago,this [U.S.] project consists of launching shows in Venezuela, similar to the shows broadcast to the Arab world by “Al-Horra” and “Sawa.”

The Scene at Telesur's First Broadcast Last Month

Modeled after “Al-Jazeera,” the Qatari television station, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez calls “Telesur,” an independent television station and a useful tool for the integration of Latin America and the Caribbean. In a speech marking the station’s launch, President Chavez swore to beat American broadcasting, which he has accused of feeding subversive forces against his country.

“Telesur,” or “Television of the South,” is managed by Venezuela (51% of the shares) and is also supported by Argentina (20%), Cuba (19%) and Uruguay (10%).

The station’s advisory board includes a number of internationally famous names like British thinker Tarik Ali, American actor Danny Glover, who agrees with the “Chavez line,” Adolf Perez, who won the Nobel prize, and many other well-known people from the cultural, political and economic worlds.

The government of the United States was authorized by the Congress to “neutralize” what one American Congressperson called Mr. Chavez’s “anti-American and anti-freedom rhetoric.”

Danny Glover, Telesur Board Member.

To do this, $9 million was allocated to this project for the year 2006. Another allocation of the same amount ($9 million) will be spent on the project in 2007. President Chavez replied that his government is ready, in this case, to wage a “merciless electronic war against the United States.”

Since he arrived in power in Caracas, Hugo Chavez, whose political leanings are to the left, has been fought by successive American presidents. A bit more than a year ago, he was “chased” from power by American allied forces, but, in a rare historical phenomenon, he was brought back to power by “underprivileged” Venezuelans who make up the bulk of the population in the country.