BRASILIA, Nov 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido exited the country’s embassy in Brazil on Wednesday, an official said, ending a standoff with rival backers of President Nicolas Maduro.
Guaido’s appointed ambassador Teresa Belandria confirmed in a statement the supporters had left, hours after the struggle for control of the diplomatic compound began.
“We have instructed our staff to withdraw from the embassy in Brasilia because we cannot guarantee their safety owing to violence generated by the usurpers of the Nicolas Maduro regime,” Belandria said.
Military police had surrounded the embassy in Brasilia as President Jair Bolsonaro met China’s President Xi Jinping at the nearby foreign ministry, ahead of a BRICS summit of major emerging economies.
Belandria said her team was in talks with Brazilian authorities in order to “access our headquarters in the shortest possible time.”
She said earlier that staff members at the embassy “voluntarily” opened its doors Wednesday to officials working for her.
More than a dozen Guaido supporters had partially occupied the embassy, said a Maduro backer inside the diplomatic compound where 15 people live.
Hundreds of people had gathered outside, many of them supporters of Brazil’s left-wing Workers Party (PT), yelling “Viva Maduro,” “Drug dealer Guaido” and “Free Lula,” the Brazilian leftist icon released from jail on Friday.
Police detained two people after scuffles broke out between Guaido and Maduro supporters.
The last Maduro-appointed ambassador to Brazil was withdrawn in 2016.
In her first statement, Belandria asked that all accredited officials at the embassy and Venezuela’s seven consulates in Brazil recognize Guaido as the legitimate president.
More than 50 countries, including Brazil, recognized the Venezuelan opposition leader as acting president earlier this year after rejecting Maduro’s re-election as fraudulent.
BRICS titans China and Russia, however, back Maduro.
“Upon entering the headquarters, we could verify that a group of officials was living in the official residence,” said Belandria, who is not inside the embassy.
Freddy Menegotti, a senior embassy official loyal to Maduro, said earlier that “strangers to our facilities are entering and are violating the Venezuelan territory”.
“We need help, we need the immediate activation of all social movements and political parties,” Menegotti said.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza condemned what he described as an invasion of the embassy.
“We hold the Government of Brazil responsible for the safety of our staff and facilities,” Arreaza tweeted.
Hours after the confrontation began, Bolsonaro tweeted: “We reject the interference of external actors. We are taking the necessary steps to safeguard public order and prevent acts of violence.”
Venezuela’s economy has been devastated by a political and economic crisis that has forced millions to flee, many of them into neighboring Brazil. — NNN-AGENCIES
