Marcel Granier, CEO of private television station RCTV, Thursday warned President Hugo Chávez that his refusal to renew the broadcast license for the TV channel would result "in a serious damage for the people he claims to defend," and urged the ruler to reconsider his decision.

"This kind of abuses you can tell when they begin, but you cannot tell when they will end. I hope the President, anytime between today (Thursday) and Sunday, reconsiders this and realizes he is harming himself, and he is causing a serious damage to the people he claims to defend. He has time to rectify," Granier told reporters, as quoted by DPA.

According to Granier, different international organizations are aware of the changes taking place in Venezuela.

"Situations like this have led human rights bodies to state that in Venezuela, given the pressures and abuses involving the Executive Branch, public powers are not independent."