In Venezuela, the director of a television station who was arrested at Punto Fijo airport on Thursday has been released. Guillermo Zuloaga is the head of Globovisión, which is fiercely opposed to socialist President Hugo Chávez.

He was held following comments he made at a media forum on the Dutch island of Aruba in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela. He told his audience there that President Chávez was trying to silence all critical media.

When he was arrested, Mr Zuloaga denied trying to flee Venezuela, saying he was planning to fly from Punto Fijo by private jet to Bonaire to celebrate Easter. He was later released but is not allowed to leave the country.

At the beginning of this week, opposition politician Oswaldo Álvarez Paz was arrested after fiercely criticising the Chávez government during an interview broadcast by Globovisión.