After days of protests led by students and opposition forces, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the expulsion of three US consular officials whom he accused of conspiracy and meeting students involved in anti-government protests.
Maduro did not identify the US officials, but pledged that the
Venezuelan foreign minister would give more details later.
"It's a group of US functionaries who are in the
universities. We've been watching them having meetings in the
private universities for two months. They work in visas,"
Maduro stated in a nationally televised broadcast.
It's believed that the expulsion has been provoked by the Obama
administration's support for the Harvard-educated opposition
leader Leopoldo Lopez, whom Maduro accuses of leading a US-backed
"fascist" plot to oust the socialist government.
Forty-two-year-old Lopez (who was the mayor of the Chacao
Municipality of Caracas from 2000 until 2008) has led the biggest
demonstration yet against Maduro's 10-month-old government, when
over 10,000 people poured onto the streets on Wednesday to
peacefully protest their growing worries, such as the country's
high murder rate and a record-breaking 56 percent inflation.
According to Maduro, a US State Department official said in a
phone conversation with Venezuela's ambassador to the
Washington-based Organization of American States that arresting
Lopez would cause serious negative consequences with
international ramifications, AP reported.
"These are unacceptable, insolent demands," Maduro said
during a televised address Sunday night. "I don't take orders
from anyone in the world," he added.
There has been no immediate reaction from Washington, which has
denied the accusations that the US has been busy plotting with
the opposition against Maduro. The US hasn't had an ambassador in
Caracas since 2010.
Maduro's government accused Lopez of inciting violence when at
the end of opposition protests in the capital a group of students
battled with security forces and pro-government militias, leaving
three people dead. Shortly after the incidents an arrest warrant
was issued against Lopez.
On Sunday, after Venezuelan security forces raided the homes of
the opposition leader and his parents, Lopez posted a message on
Twitter, and a three-minute long video.
"Maduro, you're a coward," López wrote. "You're not
going to force me or my family to bow down."
Meanwhile, the raids wrapped up another night of protests during
which security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break
up a group of about 500 students who vowed to remain on the
streets until all arrested anti-government demonstrators are
released, AP reported. More protests took place Sunday, according
to authorities 18 people were injured.
López said on the video that he invited his supporters to join
him on a march on Tuesday from Venezuela Square towards the
Justice Ministry building, which has become a "symbol of
repression, torture and lies." He said he didn't fear arrest
and accused authorities of violating his constitutional right to
protest Maduro's government. "I haven't committed any
crime," Lopez said. "If there is a decision to legally
throw me in jail I'll submit myself to this persecution,"
adding that after Tuesday's march to the ministry he planned to
walk alone to the agency to deliver a petition demanding a full
investigation of the government's role in the deaths.
In his TV address, Maduro also called for a march by oil workers
on Tuesday, beginning at the same central plaza in Caracas where
Lopez is planning to rally. He urged Lopez to negotiate his
surrender for his own safety, claiming that some sectors of the
extreme right-wing want to assassinate opposition leader to
provoke a political crisis.
In an effort to hamper anti-government demonstrations, which have
been held since Wednesday, Maduro ordered the suspension of
subway and bus service in the area where the protests take place
in Caracas.
US Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement expressing
concern about escalating tensions in Venezuela.
"We are particularly alarmed by reports that the Venezuelan
government has arrested or detained scores of anti-government
protestors and issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader
Leopoldo Lopez. These actions have a chilling effect on citizens'
rights to express their grievances peacefully," the
statement informed on Saturday.
It's not the first time the socialist leader has expelled
American officials from office. Hours before announcing the death
of Hugo Chavez in March, Maduro expelled two US diplomats,
claiming the United States might have been behind the leader's
cancer. Six months later, on September 30, Maduro said that the
top US diplomat in the country, Charge d’Affaires in Venezuela
Kelly Keiderling, along with two other American diplomats had 48
hours to leave the country for allegedly helping opponents
sabotage the electrical grid.
Sunday's expulsion is the third by Maduro. Venezuela's President
has repeatedly claimed that the United States is determined to
topple him.