Venezuela Lawmakers Propose Legal Action against Maduro

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Government supporters on Sunday interrupted a special congressional session where lawmakers were discussing bringing legal charges against President Nicolas Maduro.

Dozens of red-shirted protesters who had chanted outside the capitol since the morning burst into the building in the afternoon. Lawmakers ran out of the path of the protesters, who marched onto the floor chanting in support of the socialist government.

Opposition lawmakers had been debating ways to strike back after a court on Thursday killed their chances for staging a recall referendum to throw out unpopular President Nicolas Maduro this year.

Lawmaker Julio Borges says the opposition-held congress is now in open rebellion against a government it says has no respect for the constitution.

Legislators at the Sunday session were to debate a variety of measures to force a political change, including an effort to replace national elections officials and Supreme Court judges, and a move to take legal action against Maduro for what they call his disregard of constitutional order.

It was not immediately clear how the protesters entered the heavily guarded building.

Socialist party Socialist party leader Jorge Rodriguez called on the protesters to leave, and they began to file out after a few minutes. The special session was suspended briefly and resumed after order was re-established.

A decision to take legal action against Maduro would throw the country further into a constitutional crisis and would probably not prevail because the administration controls the courts and other major institutions.

Last week's ruling suspending the recall vote drew condemnation from the U.S. State Department and the Organization of American States.

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