Venezuela TV host goes off air after opposition links him to supposed Cuban intelligence agent

Venezuela TV host goes off air after opposition links him to supposed
Cuban intelligence agent
By Associated Press, Published: May 21

CARACAS, Venezuela — A prominent Venezuelan talk show host has gone off
the air after allegedly being caught on tape discussing politics inside
Venezuela's ruling party with a Cuban intelligence official.

The announcement on his program "La Hojilla" (The Razor Blade) late
Monday came hours after opposition lawmaker Ismael Garcia released a
recording in which Silva purportedly is heard discussing divisions in
the government following the death of President Hugo Chavez.

Garcia said Silva was talking to a Cuban intelligence official he
identified as Lt. Col. Aramis Palacios. Garcia didn't say when the
conversation was recorded or how he obtained it.

Silva said the recording was "absolutely fake" and suggested it had been
put together by editing clips from his show, which has been on the air
for nine years.

"I'm going to be off the air for a few days," Silva said on the
late-night show. "But let me tell you something: I insist I don't owe
anyone an apology, because I haven't done anything that isn't
revolutionary."

He said that he had previously received medical treatment in Cuba, and
that he was hospitalized over the weekend for "complications" related to
his gallbladder.

The opposition has long accused Cuban leaders of wielding influence
behind the scenes in guiding Venezuelan government decisions. The
government, meanwhile, accuses opposition leader Henrique Capriles of
being a puppet of the U.S.

During his 14-year reign as president, Chavez forged close ties with
Cuba, where he was treated for the cancer that killed him March 5.
Venezuela has shipped billions of dollars' worth of oil to Cuba on
preferential terms.

In the recording, a man identified as Silva says he worries that
parliament leader Diosdado Cabello, a former army officer, is conspiring
against President Nicolas Maduro, who narrowly defeated Capriles in an
April 14 election.

At one point, the voice says Maduro's opponents in the party want to
remove Defense Minister Diego Molero.

"Why do they want to remove him, Palacios? To be able to take the armed
forces and put pressure on Maduro or to behave as they please or to pull
a coup d'etat," the man says.

Silva dismissed the recording on Twitter as a "montage" and suggested
U.S. and Israeli intelligence agencies were behind it.

Cabello also dismissed the recording, calling on the opposition to
present real evidence, "not a show."

Cuban authorities did not respond to a request for reaction or
information about Palacios.

The recording added to the political tension in Venezuela, where
lawmakers met Tuesday for the first time since a brawl inside the
National Assembly chamber three weeks ago that injured several members
of the opposition.

In a speech broadcast Monday on state TV, Maduro called for an end to
"intrigues" against his administration and the armed forces but didn't
specifically mention the recording.

___

Associated Press writer Peter Orsi in Havana contributed to this report.

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