Venezuela says U.S. expels three diplomats in a dispute

[Zorro]

Source: Reuters

Washington has expelled Venezuela's highest-ranking diplomat in the United States and two others from its embassy in a tit-for-tat measure after Venezuela booted out three American diplomats accused of fomenting sabotage, the Venezuelan government said.

The flare-up appears to derail some tentative moves to improve relations between Caracas and Washington since President Nicolas Maduro took over this year from the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez.

"We repudiate this expulsion," Maduro's government said in a statement, confirming that its acting head of mission, Calixto Ortega, and two others had been expelled.

"This cannot be considered a reciprocal decision, if you look at the clear conduct of our officials, who have at no time dared to meet groups opposed to President Barack Obama's government, or people interested in acting against it."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-says-u-expels-three-diplomats-dispute-134931881.html

[iandhr]

1. Tomorrow we will expel Venezuelan diplomats.

Tit for Tat.

[grantcart]

2. They already did this is our "tit" for their "tat"

[Bacchus4.0]

3. Maduro is running out of people to expel nt

[struggle4progress]

4. ... Maduro expelled three U.S. diplomats this week on charges they were involved in promoting

anti-government plots and sabotage in the OPEC nation, whose people are bitterly divided between "Chavistas" and the opposition.

The expelled Americans included Kelly Keiderling, who was in charge of the Caracas mission where Washington has been without an ambassador since Chavez kicked out the last one in 2008.

The U.S. government denied the allegations, saying the officials were conducting normal diplomatic activities, including meeting a wide cross-section of Venezuelan society.

"This action by the Venezuelan government is clearly an effort to distract from its domestic problems and is not a serious way for a country to conduct its foreign policy," White House spokesman Jay Carney said ...

U.S. expels three Venezuelan diplomats in tit-for-tat move
By Andrew Cawthorne
CARACAS | Wed Oct 2, 2013 2:51pm EDT