Venezuela restricts diplomats from ‘hostile’ European countries

CARACAS (AFP) : Venezuela on Tuesday announced restrictions on French, Italian and Dutch diplomats on its soil, citing their governments’ “hostile” response to Nicolas Maduro’s presidential inauguration, widely rejected as a power grab.

In a move branded an “escalation” by the Dutch government, the foreign ministry announced it would limit the number of accredited diplomats to three for each of the countries.

Those remaining would also need “written authorization… to travel more than 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Plaza Bolivar” in the capital Caracas.

Maduro, 62, is embroiled in a standoff with the West and several Latin American countries over his disputed claim to have won another six year-term in July 28 elections he is widely accused of stealing.

The United States, European Union, G7 and several democratic neighbors have refused to recognize his reelection, and France, Italy and the Netherlands last week loudly condemned Maduro’s administration.

On Tuesday, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yvan Gil took to Telegram to accuse the three governments of “support for extremist groups” and “interference in the country’s internal affairs.”

Within 48 hours, he said, the embassies must each reduce to three their number of accredited diplomats.

Due to the new travel restrictions, any trip outside the capital will now require a government permit. The international airport, Simon Bolivar, which serves Caracas, is 23 kilometers from the Plaza Bolivar.

“Venezuela demands respect for sovereignty and self-determination… especially from those subordinated to the directives of Washington,” wrote Gil.

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp replied that this “escalation” by Maduro “will make dialogue all the more complicated.”

In a statement to AFP, he added there would “certainly be a response.”

The opposition says its tally of results from the July vote showed a clear victory for its candidate, 75-year-old Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who went into exile in Spain in September after first taking refuge at the Dutch embassy.

Venezuela’s CNE electoral council, loyal to the regime, had announced victory for Maduro within hours of polls closing. It never provided a detailed vote breakdown.

In a sign of Maduro’s isolation, only two prominent regional leaders — Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Nicaraguan ex-guerrilla Daniel Ortega — attended his inauguration. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his congratulations and China’s Xi Jinping sent a special envoy.

Washington and London promptly issued a bevy of sanctions on Maduro’s regime for staging what the opposition called a coup.

Critics denounced a fresh crackdown on opponents and critics in the lead-up to Friday’s swearing-in ceremony, with several activists and opposition figures detained.

More than 2,400 people were arrested, 28 killed and about 200 injured in protests that erupted after Maduro disputed claim to election victory.

He has since maintained a fragile peace with the help of the security forces and paramilitary “colectivos” — armed civilian volunteers accused of quelling protest through a reign of neighborhood terror.

French President Emmanuel Macron last week insisted “the will of the Venezuelan people must be respected” in a call with Gonzalez Urrutia, recognized by several countries as the legitimate president-elect.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denounced “another unacceptable act of repression by the Maduro regime” after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was briefly detained at an anti-Maduro rally on the eve of his inauguration.

And Veldkamp, writing on X, had expressed deep “respect” for Machado and voiced concern about the “increased violent rhetoric of the Maduro regime and reports of recent arrests.”

In office since 2013, the former bus driver and trade unionist has clung to power through a mix of populism and repression, even as the United States imposed punishing sanctions on the key oil sector and the economy imploded.