Argentine diplomats to leave Venezuela after being expelled by Maduro

• Representatives of the Argentine government will leave the country on Thursday, July 1, for Europe | Main photo: EFE

Argentine diplomats present in Venezuela will leave the country after Nicolás Maduro announced their expulsion for their stance on the presidential elections on Sunday, July 28, official sources confirmed on Wednesday, July 31 to EFE.

The sources said that the diplomats will return to Argentina on Thursday, July 1, on a flight via Europe and the last leg of the journey will be a flight from Madrid (Spain) that will return them to Buenos Aires (Argentina) on Saturday, August 3.

Venezuelan asylum seekers under siege at the Argentine Embassy

Sources from the Argentine Foreign Ministry consulted by EFE They were unable to confirm what will happen to the six Venezuelan opponents who have been granted asylum in their diplomatic headquarters in Caracas since March 2024, whose situation has generated strong controversy both in Venezuela and in the region.

The embassy, ​​according to Argentine authorities, has been under siege by Venezuelan security forces, who have surrounded the building and restricted access to basic supplies and external support.

This pressure increased due to the insistence of the Maduro government that the diplomatic headquarters must close its doors and hand over the asylum seekers. The human rights committee of the Vente Venezuela party denounced on Wednesday, July 31 that Police presence persists around the Argentine Embassy in Venezuela. The political organization described the incident as a siege of the diplomatic headquarters.

Photo: Vente Venezuela DD HH

The Argentine government has requested the intervention of international organizations to protect the asylum seekers and guarantee the integrity of its diplomatic representation. However, tensions continue to rise and the situation remains uncertain for all parties involved.

The Argentine Foreign Ministry has warned Venezuela against any action that could endanger its diplomatic personnel.

Maduro expelled representatives from seven countries

On July 29, the Maduro administration demanded that Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay “immediately withdraw their representatives from Venezuelan territory,” in rejection of their “interventionist actions and statements” regarding the presidential elections held on July 28, in which, according to the official results of the National Electoral Council (CNE), the president was re-elected.

The Argentine government has not recognized the results and has denounced fraud, while Argentine President Javier Milei said that “not even Maduro believes in the electoral fraud he is celebrating.”

The main opposition coalition, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), claimed that its candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, won the presidency by a wide margin and created a website where it posted the electoral records to reinforce its claim.

With information from EFE

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