Argentina to station police at its embassy in Venezuela after power cut off

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Argentina said Wednesday that it plans to deploy police at its embassy in the Venezuelan capital after the electricity supply to the diplomatic mission was cut off, raising tensions between the two countries.

Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich told local media that a special police team is currently being prepared to protect the embassy in Caracas, which was left without power and water for hours.

Argentina on Tuesday denounced the interruption of the power supply after hosting Venezuelan opposition leaders at the embassy.

It warned the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro “about any deliberate action endangering the safety of the Argentine diplomatic staff and the Venezuelan citizens under protection, reminding them of the obligation of the host state to safeguard the facilities of the diplomatic mission.”

The six members of Venezuela’s opposition coalition, which have links to opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, requested diplomatic asylum at the Argentine embassy on Tuesday, according to the government of President Javier Milei.

“With the support of the inviolability enshrined in Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, of which Argentina and Venezuela are signatories, it has hosted opposition political leaders at the official residence of the Argentine embassy in Caracas,” the statement said.

Machado, ​​​​​​​the main opposition leader in Venezuela’s upcoming presidential election, had thrown her support behind an alternate candidate as she has been banned from running for office. However, Corina Yoris, an 80-year-old philosopher, who was named as the substitute for Machado, was unable to register her candidacy on the electoral council’s online system, which gave rise to protests from several countries around the world.