the Inter American Press Association, Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the Human Rights Foundation—have expressed concerns for freedom of the press. United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticised the TV closure as "undemocratic" and went on to say "...disagreeing with your government is not unpatriotic and most certainly should not be a crime in any country, especially a democracy."US condemns Venezuelan TV closure, BBC News, 5 June 2007. Retrieved on 2007-06-09. However, Secretary Insulza also stated that it was up to the Venezuelan courts to solve this dispute and that he believed that this was an administrative decision.
