Venezuelan cable television providers have dropped a TV channel critical of President Hugo Chavez after a government official said the network violated broadcast laws.

The anti-Chavez channel Radio Caracas Television disappearedshortly after midnight on Saturday.

Also known as RCTV, the channel switched to cable in 2007 after the government refused to renew its over-the-air licence.

The director of Venezuela's telecommunications agency said Saturday that several local channels carried by cable television have breached broadcasting laws and should be removed from the airwaves.

Diosdado Cabello said cable operations could find themselves in jeopardy if they keep carrying those channels.