Argentina bans Russia Today broadcasts
The Argentine government announced the termination of broadcasting for Russian news channel Russia Today (RT). The decision will come into force within 60 days.
According to Radio Liberty, RT’s 24-hour news in Spanish began broadcasting in Argentina in October 2014 with great pomp. Its launch began with a general television program with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the then President of Argentina Cristina Kirchner as guests.
Argentina's consent to include RT into the state television network was the first time that a foreign broadcaster received such an opportunity. The channel is available to more than 80 percent of the Argentina’s population.
Political analyst Adrián Salbuchi said that Argentina suspended Russia Today because of the desire to use the RT frequency for internal broadcasts. However, he also noted that the decision is likely to reflect the more conservative leanings of the new Argentinean government and President Mauricio Macri, whose inauguration took place in December last year.
The government has also suspended broadcasts of the Venezuelan TV channel, which was launched by the previous government, and has invited U.S. broadcaster CNN to run branch offices in the country.