Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez claims that RCTV is among the private stations that were implicated in a coup against him that nearly brought him down five years ago. During the 2002 coup, RCTV reported falsely that Chavez supporters had fired at demonstrators. When the tide began turning in Chavez's favor, RCTV showed movies and cartoons rather than the huge crowds of the president's supporters rallying against the coup leaders.

Chavez's government has now opened an investigation against Globovision, the remaining opposition station, claiming that it has acted as an "enemy of the state". More demonstrations, in support of freedom of speech, have been called for Friday.