Canada expels Venezuela diplomats in reciprocal move

Canada has decided to revoke the credentials of Venezuela’s ambassador and chargé d’affaires in the country, reciprocating a similar move earlier by Caracas.

Venezuela’s Ambassador to Canada Wilmer Barrientos Fernandez and its chargé d’affaires, Angel Herrera, were stripped of their diplomatic credentials in Canada, the Canadian foreign minister said on Monday.

Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Barrientos, who was out of Canada, would not be allowed to return and Herrera had been asked to leave.

She said the decision was in reaction to the expulsion of Canada’s chargé d’affaires in Caracas, Craig Kowalik, over the weekend.

Venezuela declared Kowalik “persona non grata” over accusations of meddling in the Latin American country’s domestic affairs on Saturday.

Caracas decided to expel Brazil’s top diplomat in Venezuela over similar accusations that same day.