Washington - The US has cancelled the diplomatic visas of
Venezuelan diplomats at the consulate in Houston after the South
American country moved its Texas offices without proper authorization
from the US State Department, a deputy spokesman said Monday.
The Venezuelan government had requested authorization to move its
consulate in Houston to new office space, but proceeded to move into
the space before getting the okay from the US government, deputy
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.
After it learned that the consulate was operating in the facility
without authorization, the department warned the embassy to stop
working there, however Venezuela continued to to do business. On
October 31, the State Department said it would withdraw diplomatic
privileges for the staff, cancel diplomatic visas and force them to
leave the country, Wood said.
'The department has not withdrawn its permission for Venezuela to
operate a consulate at Houston,' he said. 'We indicated to the
Venezuelan Embassy that we would permit a consular officer to serve
on a temporary basis at its newly approved Houston location until the
Venezuelan government makes requests for visas for permanent
replacement staff.'
The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between the
countries.
The United States in September expelled the Venezuelan
ambassador and sanctioned two Venezuelan officials close to President
Hugo Chavez for aiding Colombian FARC rebels. The US expulsion was in
response to similar moves by Chavez and Bolivian President Evo
Morales, who earlier ordered the US envoys out of their countries.
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