Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Monday 25 March 2019

Venezuelan power struggle creates diplomatic duel abroad

By CHRISTINE ARMARIO as a potential agitator that
Associated Press could harm Colombians liv-
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — ing in Venezuela.
When Lorena Delgado ap- “It’s our decision,” he said.
proached the Venezuelan “We haven’t wanted to do
consulate in Colombia’s it.”
capital on a recent after- Calderon once served as
noon hoping to extend the Venezuela’s energy min-
life of her expiring passport, ister and is working from a
she found the metal gates hotel. He said that when
to the languishing building Maduro severed diplomat-
shuttered. ic relations with Colombia,
Days earlier, Venezuelan nearly all the consular staff
leader Nicolas Maduro left, boarding a govern-
had severed ties with the ment-sent plane and flying
neighboring Andean na- home. He’s had no access
tion where over a million of to anything they left behind
his compatriots have fled in in the buildings.
recent years, recalling all In other countries, some
his diplomats and leaving Maduro employees have
the consulate and embas- stayed on, gingerly side-
sy buildings closed. stepping the higher-volt-
The man challenging Mad- age political fight.
uro’s claim to the presi- In this Feb. 21, 2019 file photo, Venezuelan diplomats designated by opposition leader Juan In Peru, five Maduro-ap-
dency had appointed a Guaido including Gustavo Marcano, second left, confer while supporters of President Nicolas pointed envoys will remain
new ambassador, but he Maduro interrupt a press conference in Washington. in place to carry out con-
was at a loss about how to Associated Press sular functions, according
help her. Despite Colombia lagging advance. “You’ve robbed enough ensure Venezuela’s assets to a high-ranking Venezu-
recognizing Juan Guaido “At this moment, we don’t in Venezuela!” one angry abroad are protected. The elan official who spoke on
as Venezuela’s legitimate have a solution from either woman shouted. U.S. is also working to trans- condition of anonymity
president, the ambassador side,” said Paola Soto, 25, More recently, on Mon- fer other prized belongings, because he was not au-
he sent does not have ac- who is trying to reunite with day, Guaido’s U.S. ambas- like Houston-based CITGO, thorized to discuss the situ-
cess to the consulate or the her 5-year-old son in Chile. sador announced he was a subsidiary of Venezuela’s ation. He said that after
ability to issue passport ex- The battle for diplomatic taking control of the New state oil company, to Guai- talks with Peru’s foreign
tensions. recognition is largely tak- York consulate and two do. ministry, an agreement was
“You feel trapped,” said ing place behind closed military-owned buildings in “This is the first step toward reached allowing them to
Delgado, 32, who needs to doors, but it has occasion- Washington where images ending usurpation,” he said remain in the country and
travel abroad to apply for a ally spilled out into public. of Maduro have now been from inside the Manhattan continue working in the
work visa. “We’re in limbo.” In February, the Guaido- replaced with portraits of consulate, where photos embassy, even though the
As Venezuela’s power appointed ambassador Guaido. of the late socialist leader nation recognizes Guaido’s
struggle stretches on, a to Costa Rica, Maria Faria, Venezuelan Foreign Minis- Hugo Chavez still hung on ambassador. That’s a sce-
parallel dispute for control announced she had taken ter Jorge Arreaza accused the walls. nario that’s likely to play
of embassy buildings in the control of the embassy in the United States of violat- He added that while they out in most countries: Even
countries recognizing Guai- San Jose, proudly posting ing articles of the Vienna cannot issue documents as more than 50 heads of
do as Venezuela’s true on Twitter a photograph of Convention on Diplomatic like passports, the Guaido- state declare their alle-
president has taken root. herself standing in front of a Relations that require host led consulate does plan to giance to Guaido, neces-
While new opposition-ap- Venezuelan flag inside the countries to protect foreign look for other remedies to sity will inevitably compel
pointed diplomats are be- building. A shouting match embassy buildings even help the increasingly large them to maintain a range
ing recognized around the erupted outside when the when ties are severed. number of Venezuelans of ties to the Maduro gov-
world, the United States is Maduro-appointed diplo- He warned that if the U.S. who possess no valid form ernment. “Ultimately it’s not
the only nation where they mats tried to get in. doesn’t fulfill its interna- of identification. One idea in any country’s real inter-
control a consulate build- Costa Rica’s Ministry of For- tional obligations, the Ven- being floated is the cre- est to maintain an embassy
ing. In no country do Guai- eign Affairs, despite rec- ezuelan government could ation of a consular-issued that’s run by staff that have
do’s envoys have the abil- ognizing Faria as Venezu- pursue legal action and re- identification card that no ability to advance com-
ity to carry out basic tasks ela’s ambassador, issued taliate with reciprocal ac- would be recognized by mercial or consular inter-
like issuing a passport, as a statement deploring her tion - a not so veiled threat the host nation. ests,” said Geoff Ramsey,
Venezuela’s civil registra- actions, saying she’d bro- that they might occupy the In other countries, the a Venezuela researcher at
tion agency remains under ken an established proto- recently vacated U.S. Em- Guaido-named ambassa- the Washington Office on
the control of Maduro. col allowing Maduro ap- bassy in Caracas. The U.S. dors are taking a gentler Latin America.
The diplomatic duel has pointees 60 days to leave. withdrew all embassy per- approach, choosing to He pointed to the case of
left the estimated 3.4 mil- In March, a similarly confus- sonnel from Caracas due slowly work toward eventu- the Netherlands, which de-
lion Venezuelans who now ing incident took place in to safety concerns after ally taking control of con- spite backing Guaido, has
live abroad stuck between Lima, Peru when workers Maduro severed ties with sulates in conjunction with pledged to keep the Mad-
two administrations. In most were spotted at night re- the U.S. over its support for the host nation’s foreign re- uro consular staff intact
countries holdover con- moving chairs and even a Guaido. lations ministry - or avoiding in the Dutch Caribbean
sular employees continue stately bust of South Ameri- Gustavo Marcano, an ex- the topic altogether. island of Curacao, which
to carry out tasks like reg- can independence hero iled Venezuelan mayor Humberto Calderon, the stands about 40 miles from
istering births abroad while Simon Bolivar from the Ven- who now works for the appointed ambassador Venezuela’s coast. The
new, Guaido-appointed ezuelan embassy. The fur- Guaido-backed Venezue- to Colombia, said he’s fo- Netherlands has joint ven-
ambassadors remain out- niture was put back inside lan embassy in the U.S., said cused more on tending to tures with Venezuela’s gi-
side embassy walls, sym- after anti-government pro- the building acquisition is Venezuelan migrants, view- ant state-run oil company
bols of their movement’s testers decried them. one of several attempts to ing occupying the buildings at stake.q