Venezuela government orders to expel top EU ambassadors

Venezuela’s government on Wednesday directed the suspension of the chief European Union representative in the South American country following the bloc’s decision to impose penalties on several Venezuelan officials accused of threatening democracy or dishonoring human rights.

Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa was given 72 hours to depart from the troubled country. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza stated Brilhante Pedrosa was declared persona non grata by decision of President Nicolás Maduro.

“The circumstances of aggression leave no option” due to “rudeness for public international law.” Following the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, Arreaza said in a statement after a meeting with the European representative in the capital, Caracas.

“We do it because there are now 55 decisions, of what they call penalties in the European Union or in the US system as if they had a moral authority, which they do not have, nor legal, to require any punishments on citizens of any other country," Arreaza said.

The Venezuelan state action came two days after the European Union’s foreign ministers sanctioned 19 Venezuelan officials, freezing their assets and banning them from going to the bloc, citing the deteriorating situation Venezuela faces after the December 2020 elections. The main opposition parties boycotted those options.

So far, 55 Venezuelan officials have been approved by the European Union.

“The people appended to the list are mainly responsible for threatening the electoral rights of the actions and the democratic functioning of the National Assembly and for severe violations of human rights and restrictions on fundamental freedoms,” the EU ministers said.

The second time in almost eight months, Brilhante Pedrosa has been declared persona non grata and ordered to leave Venezuela. Both cases have been related to the EU bans against leaders and allies of Maduro.

Last June, Brilhante Pedrosa remained in Venezuela after the European Union high spokesperson for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, and Arreaza concurred on the obligation to preserve diplomatic relations to “facilitate the paths of political dialogue.”

Arreaza, on Wednesday, regretted that the sentences were forced again, saying Maduro had been “altruistic” to allow European representatives to live after many countries' formally known opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country's rightful leader.

Guaidó, former president of the National Assembly, declared himself interim president in 2019 and was recognized by 60 countries as Venezuela's legitimate leader, arguing that Maduro's reelection in 2018 was fraudulent. Among the countries that recognized Guaidó were Spain, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Maduro has frequently attacked the European countries and the United States for trying illegally to force him from power.