US withdraws diplomatic staff from Venezuela

The United States has said it will withdraw all remaining diplomatic staff from Venezuela as Nicolás Maduro accused Donald Trump of masterminding a “demonic” plot to force him from power by crippling the country’s electricity system with an imperialist “electromagnetic attack”.

The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, announced the decision to vacate the US embassy in the crisis-stricken country’s capital, Caracas, late on Monday.

“This decision reflects the deteriorating situation in #Venezuela as well as the conclusion that the presence of US diplomatic staff at the embassy has become a constraint on US policy,” Pompeo tweeted.

Maduro’s political foes and many specialists believe the calamitous nationwide blackout that struck last Thursday – and has yet to be resolved – is the result of years of mismanagement, corruption, and incompetence.

“The presence on Venezuelan soil of these officials represents a risk for the peace, unity, and stability of the country,” the government said in a statement after talks broke down over maintaining diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Chief Prosecutor Tarek Saab said on Tuesday he was asking Venezuela’s pro-Maduro Supreme Court to open an investigation into opposition leader Juan Guaido for participating in the alleged “sabotage.”

Washington has taken the lead in recognizing Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful president after the 35-year-old Congress chief declared himself interim president in January, calling Maduro’s 2018 re-election a fraud. Most countries in Europe and Latin America have followed suit.

The United States has implemented a raft of sanctions to put pressure on Maduro, and the U.S. special envoy on Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, said on Tuesday that Washington was prepared to impose “very significant” additional sanctions in the coming days against financial institutions deemed to be supporting Maduro’s government.

Maduro, who retains control of the military and other state institutions as well as the backing of Russia and China, has blamed Washington for his nation’s economic turmoil and denounced Guaido as a puppet of the United States.

With the power blackout in its sixth day, hospitals struggled to keep equipment running, food rotted in the tropical heat and exports from the country’s main oil terminal were shut down.

Guaido joined a series of small opposition demonstrations around Caracas on Tuesday afternoon to protest the blackout, where he mocked the prosecutor’s investigation.

Maduro – who gave no evidence for his claims – gave little hint that an end was in sight to a crisis that the opposition blames for at least 21 deaths and many fear could plunge the country into violence and turmoil.

“They will insist in their attacks,” Maduro said, calling on Venezuelans to respond with “nerves of steel”.