The EU on Thursday declared Venezuela’s ambassador to the bloc “persona non grata” in a tit-for-tat move after Caracas expelled its own envoy.
A statement said that member states had agreed on the move, proposed by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell after Venezuela ordered the European ambassador to leave.
“This is a response to the decision by the Venezuelan government to declare the head of the EU delegation to Venezuela as persona non grata,” it said. “The EU considers this declaration as wholly unwarranted, and contrary to the EU’s objective of developing relations and building partnerships in third countries.”
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Venezuelan Ambassador to the EU Claudia Salerno wrote on Twitter that “the independence and sovereignty of our homeland are not negotiable.”
On Wednesday, Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Jorge Arreaza announced the move against EU Ambassador to Venezuela Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa and gave her 72 hours to leave the country.
That came two days after EU foreign ministers agreed to sanction 19 Venezuelan officials for “undermining democracy.”
The EU expanded its sanctions list after rejecting a legislative election in December last year that saw Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro win control of the Venezuelan National Assembly after an opposition boycott.
Until the disputed vote, the assembly was run by an opposition majority with Juan Guaido at the helm as speaker — the only branch of government not under Maduro’s control.
Guaido is considered Venezuela’s legitimate head of state by about 50 foreign governments, while Maduro is subject to Western sanctions and labeled a dictator over alleged voter fraud and other abuses.
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