UK condemns expulsion of EU ambassador to Venezuela

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office issued a statement on Friday on the expulsion from Venezuela of the European Union (EU) Ambassador to Caracas, Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa, after being declared persona non grata by the regime of Nicolás Maduro.

“The decision of the Venezuelan regime to expel the head of the EU delegation is unwarranted and deeply regrettable. The UK stands alongside our EU partners ”a statement from Boris Johnson’s government ministry said.

Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa, the last European Union ambassador in Caracas, left Venezuela last Tuesday, three days after the expiry of the deadline Maduro had given her to leave the country. in reaction to the community bloc’s sanctions against 19 Venezuelan officials.

The number of Venezuelan officials sanctioned by the European Union stands at 55. Before Venezuela, the bloc had not sanctioned any Latin American country.

In response to the expulsion of your ambassador, Brussels also declared the head of the mission of Venezuela to the EU, Claudia Salerno, persona non grata. However, the EU decision does not imply the forced departure of the Venezuelan diplomat from EU territory as Salerno is also the ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg.

For their part, the countries of the so-called International Contact Group for Venezuela, sponsored by the European Union, including Spain, also on Thursday condemned the decision of the Chavista regime to expel the ambassador and considered that it was contrary to dialogue.

“The following members of the International Contact Group on Venezuela, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Panama, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Uruguay they reject the Venezuelan regime’s decision to declare the EU ambassador persona non grata, ”they said in a joint statement. The text does not mention Argentina.

They indicated that this declaration and the subsequent expulsion of the diplomat from the country is “contrary to the dialogue and respect that should prevail in international relations, Y this will only contribute to greater international isolation from Venezuela “. And they added:”We ask that situations of this nature do not happen again and that the spirit of dialogue and collaboration between the Venezuelan regime and the international community be maintained ”.

With information from EFE

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