Venezuelan anti-Maduro daily forced to close
The print edition of the Venezuelan anti-government daily El Nacional appeared for the last time yesterday, shutting down due to a mixture of political pressure and a crippling economic crisis that left it unable to source newsprint.
The presses of the 75-year-old daily fell silent after two decades of confrontation with the leftist governments of Hugo Chavez and his successor, President Nicolas Maduro, during which dozens of media outlets have been closed down.
"They have managed to silence radio and television and have made the independent print media disappear," said Miguel Henrique Otero, the newspaper's chairman who in editorials regularly slammed Maduro as a dictator.
The newspaper will continue its criticism of the socialist government via a website.
"It was impossible to continue financing the paper," editor Argenis Martinez told AFP.
El Nacional has faced serious problems since 2013, when the government created a company that monopolized the import and sale of newsprint.
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