Protesters aligned with the opposition called for "defending access to information" and denounced "the persecution against Globovision that seeks to close it permanently" in a statement read after their march.

Caracas has stepped up its criticism of Globovision, the only anti-Chavez station still broadcasting on Venezuela's public airwaves, with the country's telecommunications regulator launching four different investigations into the channel for alleged violations.

Police have searched a mansion belonging to the station's president, Guillermo Zuloaga, who has also been charged with usury. And the network has been fined over four million dollars by the authorities.

Thousands of Chavez supporters also marched Saturday alongside "socialist" journalists. At their final stop before parliament, they handed a petition to the president of the national assembly, Cilia Flores, calling for "an end to media terrorism," as part of a reform of journalism laws.

"Let's remove their concession and give it to other journalists," said Willian Lara, governor of the central state of Guarico and a former communications minister.

In May, Chavez's United Socialist Party accused Globovision of "media terrorism" for getting ahead of the government in reporting about an earthquake.

The government has also lambasted the channel for broadcasting comments by a journalist who said Chavez, a close ally of Cuba's communist regime, would end his days like former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, "hung with his head down."

The firebrand leftist leader has threatened Globovision with the same fate that befell RCTV (Radio Caracas Television), the oldest and most popular television network in the country.

The government refused to renew RCTV's license in May 2007 because of its critical news coverage. Although off the air, RCTV continues to be seen in Venezuela from Miami via cable and satellite systems.

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