(CNN) -- The editor and owner of a Venezuela newspaper under investigation by the government of President Hugo Chavez defended the editorial decision to publish a graphic photo that spurred the inquiry.
Miguel Otero told CNN en Español that the idea behind publishing a large photo of the inside of a morgue was to stir debate about insecurity in the country.
The color photograph, which ran on the front page of El Nacional last week, showed about a dozen bodies, mostly naked, sprawled on tables at a morgue in Caracas. It ran alongside a story about violence.
The government's response was to look into whether the newspaper violated a law concerning the protection of children.
"The editorial reasoning behind the photo was to create a shock so that people could in some way react to a situation that the government has done absolutely nothing about," Otero said.
He called the government's response "disproportionate".
Otero said that photos like the one published in El Nacional are published regularly in other media, just not as prominently as his newspaper did.
"The state of personal security in Venezuela is an absolute chaos, and the numbers rise, rise and rise to the point they are out of control," he said. "People are assaulted everywhere, and the police [don't] do anything".
The government has said the morgue is in much better condition than what the photo shows, and that the photo was taken years ago.
Otero said the newspaper made it clear the photo was taken in December 2009. CNN
