The Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Saturday that the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has revoked its consent for the Federative Republic of Brazil to represent Argentina’s interests and nationals in Venezuelan territory, effectively immediately.
This decision also terminates Brazil’s custodianship over the properties and archives of the Argentine mission in Venezuela. Brazil had agreed in August to safeguard Argentina’s embassy after Venezuelan authorities expelled Argentine diplomats. The expulsion followed remarks by Argentine President Javier Milei, who refused to recognize the results of Venezuela’s July 28 elections, claiming electoral fraud.
According to Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry, the revocation was prompted by evidence that the Argentine diplomatic mission was being used to plan terrorist activities and assassination attempts against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. The ministry also alleged that Venezuelan fugitives involved in these plots have taken refuge inside the embassy. Venezuela stressed that this decision aligns with the country’s obligations under the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations of 1961 and 1963.
In response, Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement rejecting Venezuela’s unilateral decision. The statement called on the Maduro government to respect the Vienna Convention, which guarantees the inviolability of diplomatic missions. The statement emphasized that any attempt to interfere with or abduct individuals sheltering in the Argentine residence would draw significant international condemnation.
Argentina also denounced the presence of Venezuelan intelligence and security forces surrounding the Argentine residence in Caracas. Oppisiton leader Pedro Urruchurtu, who is among those seeking refuge in the embassy, reported via social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that security patrols and masked, armed agents were stationed outside the compound. Former deputy Omar González confirmed that the embassy’s electricity had been and that the premises were under siege by Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) and other security forces. Both Urruchurtu and González are among six Venezuelan opposition members who sought asylum at the embassy earlier this year. Argentina has requested safe passage for the asylum seekers, but these requests have yet to be granted.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has urged the international community to intervene and ensure that safe-conducts are issued for the six opposition figures sheltered at the Argentine embassy. Meanwhile, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that, in line with the Vienna Conventions, Brazil will continue to safeguard Argentina’s interests and maintain the protection of the Argentine mission in Venezuela until Argentina designates another state, acceptable to the Venezuelan government, to take over these responsibilities. Brazil underscored the inviolability of the mission’s premises, which currently house the six asylum seekers along with sensitive property and archives.
Several Latin American governments have condemned Venezuela’s actions. Chile and Uruguay both expressed concern over what it described as the “unjustified and immediate” revocation of Brazil’s authority to protect the Argentine embassy.
Paraguay’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs likewise criticized the unilateral decision, arguing that it violates the principles enshrined in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, strongly rejected any attempt by the Venezuelan regime to violate the diplomatic immunity of the Argentine mission.
Costa Rica also deplored Venezuela’s actions, characterizing them as a part of political persecution against Venezuelan citizens legitimately sheltered in the Argentine embassy, in violation of the 1954 Caracas Convention on Diplomatic Asylum and the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
As the tensions rise, the international community is closely monitoring the unfolding diplomatic standoff between Venezuela and Argentina, as well as the broader implications for regional stability.
