CHAVISTAS TAKE OVER CARACAS ARCHBISHOP'S RESIDENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000273

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SIPDIS

HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2018
TAGS: PGOV KREL PHUM VE
SUBJECT: CHAVISTAS TAKE OVER CARACAS ARCHBISHOP'S RESIDENCE

REF: A. CARACAS 000248

B. CARACAS 000259

CARACAS 00000273 001.3 OF 002


Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT RICHARD DOWNES,
REASON 1.4 (D)


1. (C) Summary. Hard-line Chavistas temporarily occupied the
Archbishop's Residence in Caracas on February 27. They held
a press conference on the premises to denounce Catholic
Church leaders and the Papal Nuncio for hindering the
revolution as well as to express support for the deceased
bomber of the Venezuelan Chamber of Commerce. Cardinal Jorge
Urosa condemned the take-over and blamed the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela (BRV) for inciting attacks on
institutions and individuals. Only hours after the incident
at the Archbishop's, President Chavez distanced himself from
this action and blamed the take-over on infiltrators trying
to discredit his government. He urged his hard-line
supporters to exercise more "revolutionary discipline." The
take-over to some extent stole the spotlight from the BRV's
"good news" story of the release of four FARC hostages the
same day. It may also be symptomatic of decreasing BRV
control over some of the most radical Chavistas. End
Summary.

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You Say You Want A Revolution
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2. (SBU) Firebrand Chavista Lina Ron and dozens of her masked
Venezuelan Popular Unity (UPV) supporters temporarily seized
the Archbishop's Residence in Bolivar Square in downtown
Caracas the morning of February 27. Ron and her supporters
forced their way into the residence and controlled access
into the building while setting up a press conference inside.
UPV students read a lengthy communique to the media
denouncing the Catholic Church leadership as "reactionary"
and criticizing the "counter-revolutionary" Papal Nuncio for
giving refuge to student leader Nixon Moreno.


3. (SBU) Ron told the media that she considered Hector
Serrano, the bomber who was killed February 24 while trying
to plant explosives at the Venezuelan Chamber of Commerce
(Ref A),to be a "martyr of the revolution." She criticized
the government for raiding apartments in the "January 23"
neighborhood in western Caracas as part of the investigation
of that bombing. Ron also suggested that opposition-oriented
cable news network Globovision "lower its profile" or face
the wrath of "sovereign people." She implied that the UPV
has an agenda for further street actions, saying it was
tempting to "place a bomb" at Globovision, but that this was
"up to others as they see fit." Many of Ron's supporters at
the Archbishop's residence wore T-shirts emblazoned with the
slogan: "With Chavez, Everything; Without Chavez, Lead
Bullets."

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Free Your Mind Instead
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4. (SBU) Cardinal Jorge Urosa, who resides at the
Archbishop's Residence, condemned the UPV take-over in
comments to the local media. He noted that even though Ron
and her UPV supporters did not damage any property, seizing
the building was in itself an act of violence. Urosa urged
the Venezuelan government to "inject a great dose of serenity
and calm and to stop such attacks on institutions and
persons." He also said it was "no coincidence" that this
incident happened because a senior official (President
Chavez) has been particularly critical of the Papal Nuncio
and of him. Chavez has lambasted both Cardinal Urosa and the
Papal Nuncio during televised speeches. In early January,
Chavez supporters physically harassed Urosa as he was leaving
his residence.

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It's Gonna Be All Right
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5. (SBU) President Chavez distanced himself from the UPV
take-over. In phoned-in comments to the hard-line Chavista
"Razor Blade" television talk show the night of February 27,
Chavez urged Ron and her supporters to "reflect" on their
actions and to take on "a minimum of revolutionary
discipline." Chavez suggested that Ron's group had been
"infiltrated by the (U.S.) empire" to discredit his

CARACAS 00000273 002.3 OF 002


administration. Chavez expressed concern that some of his
supporters have "anarchist tendencies" who "obey no one" and
who are damaging the "revolution in progress." He did not,
however, specifically rebuke the
pro-Chavez Frente Guerrillero Venceremos, which claimed
responsibility for the recent bombing incidents in Caracas.

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Comment
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6. (C) Hard-line Chavistas commemorated on February 27 the
anniversary of the 1989 "Caracazo" riots with numerous
events. To some extent, the UPV take-over of the
Archbishop's Residence and a vigil in front of Globovision
were part of that effort. The UPV's actions at the
Archbishop's Residence, however, obscured media attention
from the story the BRV wanted most to promote the same day --
its facilitation of the release of four prominent FARC
hostages held in Colombia (Ref B). BRV officials have for a
long time winked at, and at times tacitly encouraged, the
street actions of their fervent left-wing supporters.
However, in the wake of a series of bombing incidents and the
Archbishop's Residence take-over, the BRV appears to be
increasingly embarrassed by the actions -- or by the bungling
-- of their most extreme supporters. Nevertheless, it is
also true that had the bomber not set off his explosive
prematurely and had the Venezuelan Chamber of Commerce
watchman not promptly reported the bombing to the
opposition-controlled Chacao Borough Police, the bomber's
connection to the Metropolitan Police may have never come to
light.


7. (C) In the wake of his electoral defeat in the December
2007 constitutional referendum, Chavez appears not only to
face an emboldened opposition, but also internal challenges
from his most ideologically extreme left-wing supporters.
Some 80,000 voters cast their ballot for Chavez in 2006 on
Ron's UPV ticket, and the UPV was among the first of many
small pro-Chavez parties to disband to join Chavez' new
United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). However, Ron is
reportedly seeking to reconstitute her UPV party outside the
PSUV.

DUDDY