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Subscribe to RSSIn direct response to Venezuela's expulsion of two U.S. military attaches from Caracas last week, the United States has expelled two Venezuelan diplomats.
The U.S. State Department informed Venezuela on Saturday that one of their officials in Washington and one in New York had been declared personae non gratae. The officials, Orlando Jose Montanez Olivares and Victor Camacaro Mata, have since departed the United States.
Despite leaving the door open for better relations with Venezuela, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland defended the U.S. actions.
"Around the world, when our people are thrown out unjustly, we're going to take reciprocal action," Nuland said at a daily press briefing. "And we need to do that to protect our own people."
Venezuela’s president of 14 years, Hugo Chavez, died last week, leaving the future of relations with the United States up in the air.
Chavez was a harsh critic of the United States, and used fiery anti-American rhetoric as a rallying cry.
And just hours before announcing on Tuesday that Chavez had died, Vice President Nicolas Maduro announced the expulsion of the two U.S. diplomats, and accused the United States of being responsible for the cancer that took Chavez’s life.
Maduro, the late president’s hand-picked successor, on Monday registered to be a candidate in the April 14 vote to replace Chavez. He used the event to stage a campaign rally, surrounded by thousands of cheering, crying, music-playing supporters with him.
"We do hope for better relations with Venezuela. There is work that we would like to do together, particularly in the areas of counterterrorism, counter-narcotics, economic and energy relations. But it's going to take a change of tone from Caracas," Nuland said.
In the short time since Chavez's death, the tone has remained unchanged, according to Nuland, who said that "in the day or days that followed, there was some pretty heated rhetoric coming in our direction. I think I called it at one point... a page from the old Chavista playbook that we were hoping was going to change."
One expelled official, Montanez, was second secretary at the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, D.C. and the other, Camacaro, was Second Consul in at Consulate General of Venezuela in New York.
NBC News staff writer Kari Huus contributed to this report.
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A Second Secretary and a Second Counsel? Oh, gee, this is serious diplomatic fru-fru. Shame on them, time-out in the corner. Yawn.
The Venezuela leadership needs us as a enemy, a friend doesent rally the crowds. You can ask a population for sacrifice if a enemy is at your door, not if its a friend.
just lile israel and Palestine. Israel cant afford to make peace with the Arabs and Paletine. They need them as an enemy to rally the US and get the cash.
Hessy
Don't keep up much on current events in the Middle East do you? Israel and Egypt have a peace treaty with each other.
In a world where we are told to grow up and act like adults, the governments still act as immature and childish as ever. So there , nyeah, nyeah, nyeah-nyean, nyeah...
I sure Unlce Sam longs for the days when he told Central and South America what to do or else. I believe someone needs to tell him that those days are over.
No, UNCLE Sam just doesn't like it when nut jobs like the Venezuelan VP accuse him of giving Chavez cancer. Even if our government did give him cancer, I would applaud them due to the fact that Chavez is a Stalin-like dictator. However, if you're a super-left wing extremist, you will probably think Chavez is some kind of saint.
I think the present administration gets that, but is uncertain of what to do next. What do you propose?
The people of Venezeual liked Chavez. Uncle Sam couldn't turn him into another puppet.
The people liked Chavez only because of all the freebies he handed out.
Hmmmm something about that sounds vaguely familiar ...........
As long as we get their oil we won't do anything.
Oh boy.
Who could not see this coming.
He blames the US for Chavez's cancer.
And the people (the sheep) will be in an uproar.
AND he will be made the new dictator.
AND the US will be the devil again.
God, I will miss Venezuela.
and racists devised AIDS and your poor because of the "Rich" It's amazing the garbage fed to and believed by the gullible and ignorant.
Children at play. Both sides!
It's official,we now have children running the United States and Venezuela.
What a joke.
Such a childish response from our government.
And now VenezuelA is running out if toilet paper. Blame the Yankees for them having to take a crap. Maduro does not have an inkling of an idea on how to run a country one thing is a given, he will steal as much as possible along with his cronies . They will never blame the Chavistas or their f- up system for the failure of this government. I lived in Venezuela for 5 years. It was hell. Beautiful country but beneath the beauty is a horrible infrastructure, no water no lights and the highways are filled with Volkswagen size potholes. Simon bolivar is turning in his grave. What a mess.