Brazil Expels Venezuela’s Charge D’Affaires

Brazil has expelled Venezuela’s charge d’affaires Gerardo Delgado.

It came days after Venezuela’s decision to expel the Brazilian ambassador to Caracas, Ruy Pereira.

Venezuela said Brazil had acted illegally in impeaching its former left-wing president, Dilma Rousseff.

On December 23, Venezuela also expelled Canada’s charge d’affaires, accusing him of interfering in internal affairs.

On December 25, Canada announced that Venezuela’s Ambassador Wilmer Barrientos Fernández, who was already abroad, would not be allowed to return.

Venezuela’s charge d’affaires in Ottawa, Ángel Herrera, was also asked to leave.

Relations with Brazil have deteriorated since President Michel Temer took office in 2016, following Dilma Rousseff’s dismissal by Congress for fiscal irregularities.

Canada Expels Venezuela’s Ambassador and Charge D’Affaires

Venezuela Expels Brazilian Ambassador and Canadian Charge D’Affaires

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro described her impeachment as “a right-wing coup”.

On December 23, the head of Venezuela’s powerful Constituent Assembly, Delcy Rodriguez, said that “diplomatic relations with Brazil will not be restored until the government reinstates the constitutional order it has effectively broken”.

The Brazilian government said the move showed “once again the authoritarian nature of President Maduro’s administration”.

Brazil and Canada have both become outspoken critics of President Maduro.

They accuse Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government of harassing the opposition and violating human rights.

Canada imposed sanctions on senior Venezuelan officials a few months ago.

Brazil and Canada were among many countries critical of President Maduro’s decision to convene a Constituent Assembly, which effectively replaced the opposition-controlled National Assembly.

The announcement prompted mass street protests, which killed more than 120 people in four months.

Venezuela’s opposition boycotted the poll in July and also held an unofficial referendum in which they said more than seven million Venezuelans had voted against the constituent assembly.

Nicolas Maduro’s six-year term ends in 2019. He is due to run for re-election in 2018.