?By Laura Gamba
BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Venezuela denounced Wednesday the "kidnapping" of its national soccer team's plane after a delay in its departure from Peru.
"The Government of Peru commits a new arbitrariness against Venezuelans, by preventing the plane that brings back the Venezuelan soccer team from refueling to take the flight," Foreign Minister Yvan Gil wrote X.
It is "a vengeful kidnapping of our team, which played an extraordinary game yesterday," he added.
The Peruvian government responded that "it has not ordered any measure that prohibits the refueling of the aircraft."
"The aforementioned aircraft has been experiencing private commercial supply restrictions beyond the control of the Peruvian State," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “The Foreign Ministry is taking steps to resolve this situation as soon as possible.”
The Venezuelan team left Peru after playing to a 1-1 draw in the 2026 World Cup qualifier Tuesday -- a match that was full of "discriminatory" events, described by Venezuela.
In Peru, where 1.5 million Venezuelans live, the government in announced an unusual immigration control system before the match. Likewise, after the match, strong clashes occurred between Venezuelan players and police at the National Stadium in Lima.
“It is at least embarrassing that a football event of such magnitude has been taken as a battlefield to expose the lowest passions of anti-Venezuelan xenophobia by a police authority in Peru,” wrote Gil.
Last week, a decree took effect that allows the Peruvian government to quickly expel undocumented immigrants, after completing a deadline set for Nov. 10 to legalize their situations.
Peru has attributed an increase in insecurity to the presence of migrants who arrived from Venezuela.