Attorney General Luisa Ortega said a warrant was issued for the arrest of Guillermo Zuloaga, owner of the TV channel Globovision, for remarks that were deemed “offensive” to the president.

Zuloaga said that military intelligence agents detained him at an airport in the northwestern state of Falcon.

Ortega said prosecutors are investigating Zuloaga for statements he allegedly made during a recent meeting of newspaper owners in the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba, where media executives from across the Americas criticized Chavez's government for limiting freedom of expression.

Ortega said pro-Chavez lawmakers requested the probe, arguing that Zuloaga should be prosecuted for “offensive and disrespectful comments against the head of state” during the meeting of the Inter American Press Association.

She did not reveal the statements that Zuloaga allegedly made.

The arrest came three days after opposition politician Oswaldo Alvarez Paz was detained for remarks made on a Globovision talk show on March 8.

Alvarez Paz has been charged with conspiracy, spreading false information and publicly inciting crime after remarking that Venezuela has turned into a haven for drug traffickers. He also said he backed allegations by a Spanish judge that Venezuela's government has cooperated with the Basque separatist group ETA and Colombian rebels.

Chavez has dismissed those accusations as lies. Alvarez Paz stands by his words and denies breaking the law.