US expels two Venezuelan diplomats

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has expelled two Venezuelan diplomats in retaliation for Venezuela’s recent expulsion of two US military attachés.

Washington says it wants to repair ties with Venezuela after President Hugo Chávez’s death but has made little headway so far. Shortly before Chávez died last week, Venezuela expelled two US Air Force attachés in Caracas for alleged espionage.

The Obama administration waited until after Chávez’s funeral on Friday to announce reciprocal action.

The US move comes as Venezuela prepares for an April election to choose a new leader.

On Saturday, junior Venezuelan diplomats Orlando José Montanez Olivares and Victor Camacaro Mata were ordered to return home, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters yesterday.

Montanez, an official at the embassy in Washington, and Camacaro, who served in Venezuela’s New York consulate, left the United States on Sunday.

The US expulsions amount to standard diplomatic retaliation.

The two countries haven’t had ambassadors posted in each other’s capitals since 2010. Chávez rejected the US nominee at the time, accusing him of making disrespectful remarks about the Venezuelan government. Washington then revoked the visa of Venezuela’s ambassador to the US.

Beyond the diplomatic tit-for-tat, Venezuelan officials have ratcheted up the anti-US rhetoric of late, accusing Washington of responsibility for Chávez’s cancer.

Administration officials declared themselves highly disappointed with Nicolás Maduro, the interim president and Chávez’s desired successor, for a news conference he gave last week as the Venezuelan’s health worsened. Comparing Chávez to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Maduro suggested that Chávez had been poisoned.

In recent months, as Chávez’s health deteriorated, the administration sounded out Maduro in an attempt to improve relations that became badly strained during Chávez’s 14 years in power.

Despite some positive feedback from a November telephone call with Roberta Jacobson, the top US diplomat for Latin America, US officials see little possibility of a sudden improvement in relations with Venezuela, given its upcoming election.

Maduro is running against opposition leader Henrique Capriles.

Officially, Washington hasn’t taken sides. It has instead focused its calls on the need for free and fair elections.

AP