The owner of a Venezuelan pro-opposition television channel has told U.S. media that he has asked for political asylum in the United States.
Globovision president Guillermo Zuloaga made the comment Wednesday in an interview with CNN's Spanish language channel.
Zuloaga fled to the U.S. in June after the government in Caracas issued a warrant for his arrest based on fraud charges relating to another business, an auto dealership. Zuloaga denied the charges and said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered his arrest on trumped-up charges.
Zuloaga has also denied allegations of involvement in a $100-million scheme to assassinate the Venezuelan president.
Mr. Chavez has waged a long-running campaign against Globovision.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said earlier this year that it is concerned about the use of the punitive power of the state to silence opponents in Venezuela.