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German ambassador ordered to leave the country

Published:Thursday | March 7, 2019 | 12:00 AM
The Associated Press
Venezuelan Congress President Juan Guaido, an opposition leader who has declared himself interim president, gives a news conference at the end of his meeting with leaders of public employee unions in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday, March 5. Guaido said police officials were among those at the meeting with state workers who rely heavily on government subsidies to get by in a country suffering from hyperinflation and shortages of food and other necessities.

CARACAS (AP):

The Venezuelan government on Wednesday gave the German ambassador 48 hours to leave the country after he expressed support for opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza tweeted a statement saying Ambassador Daniel Kriener interfered in Venezuela’s internal affairs and allied himself with “extremist sectors” of the opposition.

Venezuela considers it unacceptable that a foreign diplomat would take on “a public role more appropriate to that of a political leader”, the statement said.

Kriener and some other diplomats greeted Guaido when he returned to Venezuela on Monday and vowed to intensify his campaign to topple the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

Waiting for Guaido at the country’s main airport, Kriener spoke to media and said he hoped the leader of the National Assembly would have a safe return. There were concerns that the opposition leader might face detention, but Maduro’s government did not move against him.

After Venezuela’s expulsion order, the German Foreign Ministry said in an emailed statement that it was coordinating how to proceed, “including with our partners on the ground”.

Maduro broke off diplomatic relations with the United States after it recognised Guaido as interim president in late January, initially giving American diplomats 72 hours to leave the country. The Trump administration refused to obey Maduro’s order.

The US, Germany and some 50 other countries have urged Maduro to resign so the country can prepare for elections. Maduro says he is the target of a US-backed coup plot.