Caracas, Venezuela, Feb 27, 2008 / 12:57 pm
A group of Hugo Chavez supporters (Chavistas) violently took over the chancery of the Archdiocese of Caracas for several hours to stage a protest against the Catholic Church and the only standing independent TV station, Globovision.
The group of 15 Chavistas, some of them wearing masks, were led into the Church's premises by Lina Ron, a member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela –a political front for supporters of president Hugo Chavez- and a well-known street demonstrator.
The demonstrators violently expelled the officials working at the chancery, including Bishop Jesús González de Zárate, who was installed as an auxiliary bishop of Caracas a month ago.
The Archbishop of Caracas, Cardinal Jorge Urosa Sabino, was not at the chancery at the moment of the attack.