By Leonardo Fernandez and Lisandra Paraguassu
CARACAS/BRASILIA/BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Brazil on Thursday took over administration of the Argentine and Peruvian embassies in Venezuela after those countries’ diplomats were expelled over their criticism of disputed election results showing President Nicolas Maduro won last weekend’s election.
Brazil will mediate on issues regarding Argentine and Peruvian citizens in Venezuela, the main one being the status of six Venezuelan opposition figures who sought asylum in the Argentine embassy and now live in the ambassador’s residence.
The Brazilian flag was raised at the Argentine ambassador’s residence in Caracas, according to a Reuters witness, and subsequently taken down, though it was not clear why.
“I greatly appreciate Brazil’s willingness to take charge of the custody of the embassy,” Argentine President Javier Milei wrote on X. “I have no doubt that we will soon reopen our embassy in a free and democratic Venezuela.”
Milei, a right-wing libertarian who has been critical of Maduro’s socialist government, had previously said the Argentine diplomats had to leave Caracas due to “retaliation by the dictator Maduro for our condemnation of the fraud they (Maduro’s government) perpetrated last Sunday.”
Venezuela expelled diplomats from Argentina and five other countries – Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay over election-related criticism. Caracas also severed relations with Peru after Lima recognized opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez as Venezuela’s elected president.
Venezuela’s electoral council proclaimed Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, the winner of the July 28 election with 51% of the vote, but the opposition says its tally of about 90% of the votes shows Gonzalez received more than double the support of the incumbent president.
Many nations in the Western Hemisphere, including regional powerhouses Brazil and the U.S., are pressuring Maduro’s government to release comprehensive vote totals, something his government has yet to do.
TENSIONS HIGH
The disputed election has led to deadly, widespread protests that Maduro and his allies in the military have denounced as an attempted coup. Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday it had received reports of 20 deaths in post-election demonstrations.
Shops and public transport across Venezuela, which is mired in a deep and lengthy economic crisis marked by sky-high inflation and chronic shortages of basic goods, shut down on Wednesday as tensions rose and rumors of more opposition arrests and sporadic violence kept many people home.
Some Maduro allies have said Gonzalez and high-profile opposition leader Maria Corina Machado should be arrested for their role in the anti-government protests, which also occurred in longtime ruling party strongholds.
Aides to Machado requested asylum at the Argentine embassy in March after a local prosecutor issued arrest warrants against them for conspiracy. Machado, who has denied allegations of misconduct by her team, was blocked from being a candidate in Sunday’s presidential election despite being the frontrunner in polls.
Reuters reported in April, citing a Venezuelan official source, that Maduro’s government would allow the six opposition figures currently in the Argentine ambassador’s residence to leave safely for Buenos Aires.
But as relations between the two countries deteriorated further, Argentina accused Maduro’s government of reneging on promises to allow the six to safely leave.
On Monday, as Venezuela spiraled into protests and violence, one of them – a Machado advisor – said on social media that security forces were trying to enter the building. He later reported the attempts had been unsuccessful.
Celso Amorim, who is Brazil’s top presidential advisor on foreign policy, relayed concern over the six asylum seekers when he met with Maduro on Monday, according to a source close to Amorim.
“Brazil has asked for protection for the Argentine embassy, and Maduro agreed to that,” a Brazilian diplomat said.
A spokesperson for Argentina’s foreign relations ministry confirmed the Argentine diplomats would leave Venezuela on Thursday, traveling first to Europe and then Buenos Aires, but added the government did not know what would happen to the six Venezuelans in the ambassador’s residence.