A Venezuelan court has ordered El Nacional -- one of Venezuela's oldest newspapers and a fierce critic of President Hugo Chavez -- to stop publishing images of violence after the newspaper published a front-page picture of dead bodies in a Caracas morgue.

The photograph accompanied a news story, which analysed Venezuela's failure to curtail widespread violent crime.

The court also notified El Nacional's editor, Miguel Henrique Otero, that the newspaper could be fined heavily for publishing such horrifying photographs. It warned that the fine could be as much as 2 per cent of the newspaper's revenue.

While Chavez's opponents described the ruling as politically motivated censorship, Venezuelan officials claimed that the court's order aims to protect children and adolescents from violent images.

Otero suggested that the newspaper could defy the court order as it does not plan to change its editorial line or desist from publishing photographs including violent content.