Brazil Pulls Diplomatic Staff from Venezuela

Jair Bolsonaro and Nicolas Maduro, presidents of Brazil and Venezuela.

HAVANA TIMES – Brazil’s government has decided to withdraw its diplomatic staff from Venezuela, in a move announced on Thursday, reported dpa news.

The embassy in Caracas and several consulates in the country are affected, according to the decision published in the government newsletter Diario Oficial da Uniao.

It marks a new level of tension between the right-wing Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro and Venezuela’s socialist leader Nicolas Maduro.

For the Brazilian government, it clears a path to ask Venezuela’s diplomats to leave Brazil.

Bolsonaro recognized an envoy representing self-appointed Venezuelan interim president Juan Guaido as an ambassador to Brazil.

Guaido declared himself interim president last year and is recognized as Venezuela’s legitimate leader by more than 50 countries.