(cont'd from yesterday's post)
El Nacional's owner has fled the country for (understandable) fear for his safety. Dozens of media outlets have been driven out of business by courts friendly to Maduro. The Committee to Protect Journalists says, “This is a clear case of judicial harassment against one of the few remaining independent outlets in Venezuela, which has managed to keep reporting against all odds.”
In this particular case, if it does not pay the "astronomical" fee, the newspaper may be seized and sold at auction.
When the economy and government branches are free and separate, they are a protection against tyranny: each can act to restrain excesses in the others. When they are all controlled by Maduro, there is no protection. He can use the courts, the economy, etc., to insulate himself from opposition.
from Stream
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