KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent: – An official visit to this country by Venezuela president Hugo Chávez has been postponed indefinitely, the Office of the Prime Minister here announced Monday morning.
Chávez was slated to arrive here on Wednesday for one-day, as guest of Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves.
However, Chávez was ordered to rest for eight days after he was injured while playing softball on the weekend, according to the Office of the Prime Minister.
On Sunday, a Venezuelan military aircraft offloaded media equipment at the E.T. Joshua Airport here.
A well-placed source told I Witness-News that the equipment was being prepared to be shipped back to Caracas Monday afternoon.
Chavez’s visit to Kingstown came on the heels of his latest media crackdown, which saw the revoking of the licences of dozens of radio stations in Venezuela.
The media crackdown could jail people deemed guilty of “media crimes” for up to four years.
At least 13 stations went off the air over the weekend and another 21 were expected to follow soon in an effort by Chávez to extend his socialist revolution, The Guardian reported on Sunday.
Venezuela is part of Dr. Gonsalves’ “coalition of the willing”, a group of ally nations partnering with the government to construct an international airport here.
Mexico, Taiwan, Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago are also part of that group.