USA Kicks-Out Three Venezuelan Diplomats
HAVANA TIMES — The United States expelled three Venezuelan diplomats on Monday in reaction to a similar measure the previous week by Caracas against three officials of the US embassy, confirmed Jennifer Psaki, a State Department spokeswoman.
The United States, “declared persona non grata three officials of the Venezuelan embassy in Washington,” said Psaki.
Washington reacted to the decision of the Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, who on February 17 expelled three officials of the U.S. embassy in Caracas for meddling in Venezuelan affairs.
Maduro said at the time he would not accept “threats” from Washington, which had demanded an end to the repression of the opposition. In response he ordered the expulsion of the consular officers, accusing them of conspiring against his government.
The Venezuelan president said the United States sent him a message telling him to enter into dialogue with the opposition, release all arrested in recent demonstrations and vacate the arrest of opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, all of which he rejected. “We will not be intimidated,” he said.
The US officials told Venezuela of their decision to expel the diplomats on Monday night and gave them 48 hours to leave the country.
No one supports Maduro because of his management strengths, public speaking prowess or foreign policy skills. No one believes him to be the intellectual equal to…well…anyone. OK, maybe Evo Morales. People support Maduro because he represents the latest incarnation of an anti-US head of state that (as far as we know) doesn’t live in a gilded palace, doesn’t have not-so-secret bulging Swiss bank accounts and has not lined up his opponents against a wall in front of a firing squad (not yet).
No one supports Maduro because of his management strengths, public speaking prowess or foreign policy skills. No one believes him to be the intellectual equal to…well…anyone. OK, maybe Evo Morales. People support Maduro because he represents the latest incarnation of an anti-US head of state that (as far as we know) doesn’t live in a gilded palace, doesn’t have not-so-secret bulging Swiss bank accounts and has not lined up his opponents against a wall in front of a firing squad (not yet).
Remember this is the same Maduro who had incontrovertible proof that the payaso Chavez was ‘infected’ with a cancer-causing drug and he was going to present that evidence at a later date. Still waiting…..
I am always surprised at how naive the Maduro supporters are.
Well stated.
Now is the time.
Very well said. The Cubans have hi-jacked Venezuela.
I also find it amusing how gullible the “supporters” of the Maduro regime are when it comes to parrot like statements given out as the reason…..do they think it is the first time that Maduro has blamed the US for anything or everything that is wrong in Venezuela? Laughable.
Don’t be naïve. That’s the story that the Maduro government put out there. It is a ridiculous story. Three low-level embassy staffers have this sort of power over the Venezuelan people? How much money does a student costs these days? Was there a group discount? HT is a front for the US State Dept.? Another whopper! Do you guys get this out of a playbook or something?
That is what the Venezuelan government alleges, and they would say that, but do you have any independent proof or evidence to support that claim?
Do you really think hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan students and citizens turned out to protest because 3 US diplomats paid a handful of student activists? That’s a lot of bang for their buck, isn’t it?
It should not surprise anybody to learn that the US has a few people working in Venezuela trying to help pro-democracy groups. What I do find surprising is the complete lack of interest in the thousands of Cuban soldiers, intelligence and security agents at work in Venezuela supporting and directing the Maduro puppet regime.
Do you not think that the fact Maduro has handed over the country to a foreign dictatorship might have something to do with the anger of the people? What about the crime, the shortages and the hyper-inflation destroying the Venezuelan economy? Maybe the people are angry about that too and blame the government of Maduro and his predecessor for the problems?
HT didn’t say why the Americans were expelled. They went to Venezuelan Universities and under the guise of helping students get visas to US, recruited students for opposition protests and gave them money and directions. HT doesn’t want you to know the whole story. They are a front for US State Dept.