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CARACAS (Dow Jones)--Venezuela President Hugo Chavez accused Caracas-based website Noticiero Digital of trying to incite a military coup against him, and called for an immediate investigation.

"Incitements of coups continue to appear (on the website), and that can't be permitted," Chavez said Sunday during his weekly television show, "Hello, President."

Chavez, a leftist leader who has been in power since 1999, barely avoided ceding the presidency during a 2002 coup attempt. Since then, he has frequently accused the opposition of plotting fresh coups against him, and often says the U.S. government is secretly spearheading the plan.

The specific opinion piece Chavez objected to was published June 2 in www.noticierodigital.com, a website the government has frequently accused of trying to stir up antigovernment actions.

The article, penned by Roberto Carlo Olivares, said the following:

"There are retired, high-ranking military officials that are working with active patriots from different armed services, designing a civilian-military transition that will be inevitable," the column says. "And rumor suggest it will go down in 2010 or early 2011."

Chavez said the investigation should focus on the websites' owners and operators, as well as the writer.

"Who is this Mr. Roberto Carlo Olivares? Let's see if he's in the country," Chavez said. "He needs to identify these military people that he's accusing."

Attempts to communicate with the writer or representatives of the website were unsuccessful.

In March, the Chavez government arrested a former state governor, Oswaldo Alvarez Paz, for saying on a television show that Venezuela has become a haven for drug traffickers. Chavez said such statements break a law the prohibits "spreading false information" or making any incendiary comments that are a threat to peace and stability.

-By Dan Molinski, Dow Jones Newswires; 58-414-120-5738; dan.molinski@dowjones.com