An unclassified U.S. intelligence report says Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is ``moving forcefully'' to stifle media criticism by closing scores of radio stations, tightening controls on one TV station and maneuvering to seize control of another.

``Chávez's government is moving forcefully to silence critics,'' the Open Source Center wrote in a report dated Aug. 3. Part of the office of the Director of National Intelligence, the nation's intelligence czar, the Center provides analysis based on public information such as newspaper, radio and television reports.

The two-page Venezuela report -- labeled ``Unclassified/FOUO'' or For Official Use Only -- listed seven well-known examples of Venezuelan government efforts to crack down on or seize control of media outlets. It was first made public by Secrecy News, a web site of the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy.

Although its conclusions echoed the complaints voiced in recent months by Venezuelan opposition groups as well as freedom of expression activists in and outside the country, its wording seemed unusually direct. Requests for comments left with the Venezuelan embassy in Washington were not answered.

``Silencing his critics would allow Chávez to completely control the media message, but it would also deprive him of his long-standing scapegoat,'' the report noted. ``He may be willing to give this up in order to clamp down on the negative news reporting and commentary, which have been hammering away at the country's economic problems and Chávez's increasing authoritarianism for the past year.''

``The government action against its media critics would also eliminate the only forums available to Chávez's other domestic critics, including local opposition elected officials, political parties and university students,'' it added.

Among the seven examples, it noted the government last month shut down 32 radio stations and vowed to close another 208 for allegedly failing to file required paperwork. Chávez has said the frequencies will be awarded ``to the people.''

It also noted that the government recently imposed national broadcasting regulations on RCTV International, a cable-only successor to RCTV, a leading broadcaster seized by Chávez in 2007. The cable station is now required, like all other TV stations, to provide live broadcasts of Chávez's speeches.

The speech broadcasts are averaging 70 minutes this year, compared to 50 minutes in 1999, according to the report.

Government officials also have threatened several times to close Globovision, a TV broadcaster often critical of the president, the report added, ``but appears to be positioning itself to take over rather than shut down the station.''

The report also says that a Media Crimes bill proposed by Prosecutor General Luisa Ortega ``significantly expands the government's ability to punish media critics for any action or omission that it finds objectionable.''

So far, however, no member of the National Assembly has introduced the measure for the legislature's consideration.