Americas

Home page

Americas

U.S. expels three Venezuelan diplomats in tit-for-tat move

02 October 2013 21:29 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Washington has expelled Venezuela's highest-ranking diplomat in the United States and two others from its embassy in retaliation for Venezuela's booting out three American diplomats accused of fomenting sabotage, the Venezuelan government said, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The flare-up appears to derail some tentative moves to improve relations between Caracas and Washington since President Nicolas Maduro took over this year from the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, whose 14-year rule was halted by cancer.

"We repudiate this expulsion," Maduro's government said in a statement, confirming that its acting head of mission, Calixto Ortega, and two others had been ordered out.

"This cannot be considered a reciprocal decision, if you look at the clear conduct of our officials, who have at no time dared to meet groups opposed to President Barack Obama's government, or people interested in acting against it."

Maduro expelled three U.S. diplomats this week on charges they were involved in promoting anti-government plots and sabotage in the OPEC nation, whose people are bitterly divided between "Chavistas" and the opposition.

The expelled Americans include Kelly Keiderling, who was in charge of the mission in Caracas, where the United States has been without an ambassador since Chavez kicked out the last one in 2008.

The U.S. government, and Keiderling herself in a news conference in Caracas, denied the allegations, saying they were conducting normal diplomatic activities, including meeting a wide cross-section of Venezuelan society.