(CNN) - The Venezuelan government ordered cable signal providers Wednesday to remove CNN en Español from the air, days after CNN issued an investigation into the alleged fraudulent issuance of Venezuelan passports and visas.
Venezuela's foreign minister, Delcy Rodríguez, accused the network of conducting what she called "an imperial media operation" against her country last week by issuing "Passports in the Shadow."
The Venezuelan National Telecommunications Commission told the cable companies to immediately remove the CNN en Español signal from the air. He referred to this action as a precautionary measure and did not clarify when CNN en Español would return to cable systems.
The commission accused CNN en Espanol of slander and distortions and said that the network was violating the rights of freedom of expression protected by the Venezuelan Constitution.
According to the government of that country, the CNN report issued in two parts threatened "the peace and democratic stability of our Venezuelan people, since they generate a climate of intolerance."
Another of the cable channels of Turner Broadcasting System, CNN International, is still being broadcast in Venezuela.
The Venezuelan government's decision came just two days after US officials said El Aissami was an international drug trafficker and imposed severe sanctions.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denounced the accusations of the United States Department of the Treasury. The president described the US charges as "an aggression that Venezuela will respond step by step, with balance and forcefulness."
