Venezuela recalls Brazil envoy over 'interventionist and rude statements'
31/10/2024 6:05
The Venezuelan government on
Wednesday said it was recalling its ambassador in Brazil over
what it described as "repeated interventionist and rude
statements" from Brasilia, adding it was also summoning Brazil's
business envoy for talks.
In a statement, Venezuela's foreign ministry singled out the
Brazilian president's top foreign policy advisory Celso Amorim
for "acting more like a messenger for North American
imperialism" and accusing him of being "impertinently dedicated
to issuing value judgments on processes that only correspond to
Venezuelans and their democratic institutions."
Brazil's government did not immediately respond to a request
for comment.
The head of Venezuela's parliament, Jorge Rodriguez, had
earlier on Wednesday proposed that lawmakers vote on declaring
Amorim a persona non grata after accusing him of behaving like
an envoy for U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
The diplomatic escalation comes after weeks of tensions
following Venezuela's disputed presidential election in late
July.
After the vote, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva joined many world leaders in calling for Venezuelan
electoral authorities to publish official ballot-box tallies
from the vote.
Maduro's government has claimed victory but has yet to
publish the tallies, while Venezuela's opposition has published
thousands of scanned copies of voting machine receipts obtained
by its election observers that it says show a landslide win for
its candidate.
Relations further soured earlier this month when Brazil
vetoed Venezuela's admission into the BRICS group of emerging
economies, which Venezuela has branded as an "inexplicable an
immoral aggression."
At least 600,000 Venezuelans have migrated to Brazil in
recent years, according to Brazilian government data, while in
2022 bilateral trade amounted to some $1.3 billion in Brazilian
exports and $400 million in shipments from Venezuela.
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