- Writing
- BBC News World
The announcement was made by Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.
The Canadian government announced on Sunday the “temporary” suspension of the operations of its embassy in Venezuela, due to alleged obstacles by President Nicolas Maduro in facilitating the obtaining of visas for foreign diplomats.
In a statement, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland explained that the measure would come into force “immediately” and indicated that she would review the status of diplomats sent by Maduro to her country.
“As Venezuela slides deeper and deeper into dictatorship and Venezuelans continue to suffer at the hands of the illegitimate Maduro regime, the regime has taken steps to limit the ability of foreign embassies to operate,” he said. -he considers.
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry did not immediately react to Canada's announcement.
As the main reason for the cessation of operations, Freeland pointed out that at the end of this June, Canadian diplomats in Venezuela will no longer be able to obtain diplomatic accreditation and their visas will expire.
“Therefore, we have no choice but to temporarily suspend our operations at the Canadian Embassy in Venezuela, effective immediately,” he added.
The Trudeau government, which has strongly criticized Maduro and even imposed sanctions on him, also stressed in the document that it would continue to “defend the rights of the Venezuelan people and the full return to democracy” in this South American country. .
Diplomatic tensions
Political tension in Venezuela has increased since last January, when Maduro took on a new six-year term that the opposition and part of the international community do not recognize.
Guaidó proclaimed himself interim president of Venezuela.
In response, the head of Parliament, the opposition Juan Guaidó, proclaimed himself interim president and received the support of around fifty countries, including the United States, Canada and a large part of the countries of America Latin.
Guaidó has promised he will call elections once Maduro's “usurpation” of the presidency stops, and on Saturday he predicted at a mass event in Barinas state that Chavismo would soon leave power.
Despite significant foreign support, Guaidó still does not control Venezuelan state institutions and his top aide, Roberto Marrero, has been arrested for the alleged crime of rebellion.
Maduro, for his part, believes he has been the victim of attempted “coups” sponsored, according to him, by the United States and other nations.
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