The EU’s foreign policy chief yesterday condemned the expulsion of the EU’s ambassador to Venezuela ordered by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and said that the bloc would reciprocate.
“We condemn and reject the expulsion of our ambassador in Caracas. We will take the usual necessary reciprocal measures,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell wrote on Twitter.
Maduro on Monday gave Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa, the head of the EU mission in Caracas, 72 hours to leave the country after the bloc announced sanctions against 11 Venezuelan officials.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“Who are they to try to impose themselves with threats?” Maduro said. “We will sort it out in 72 hours ... she will be given a plane to leave, but we will arrange our things with the European Union.”
Venezuela’s airspace is closed to commercial airplanes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maduro also accused the EU of getting down on its “knees” to US President Donald Trump, who has taken a hard line against the leftist leader, and copying “erratic policies” against the Latin American nation.
Relations have been tense since 2017, when Venezuela became the first Latin American country to receive sanctions from the EU, including an arms embargo.
Among the officials sanctioned on Monday was Maduro-backed opposition lawmaker Luis Parra, who is contesting the leadership of the opposition-controlled Venezuelan National Assembly with its president, Juan Guaido.
Guaido used his position as head of parliament to challenge Maduro’s authority in January last year by declaring himself acting president after the National Assembly deemed the socialist leader a usurper over his controversial re-election in 2018 in a poll widely branded fraudulent.
Guaido is recognized as his country’s interim president by more than 50 nations, including the US and much of the EU.
However, Parra declared himself National Assembly president in January, while security forces loyal to Maduro prevented Guaido from entering the building for a re-election vote he was widely expected to win.
“Only a negotiated solution between Venezuelans will allow the country to emerge from its deep crisis,” Borrell added in his tweet.
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