Canada revokes Venezuelan diplomats' credentials

International Desk: The Canadian government is stripping Venezuelan diplomats of their credentials in response to the same being done to Canada’s charge d’affaires – the diplomat who heads an embassy in the absence of the ambassador.

On Saturday, officials in Venezuela took steps toward expelling Canadian diplomat Craig Kowalik from the country by declaring him persona non grata, stripping him of his diplomatic credentials.

National constituent assembly president Delcy Rodriguez accused Kowalik of tweeting “rude and vulgar” comments about Venezuela and of meddling in the country’s internal affairs.

In a statement released Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says the Venezuelan Ambassador to Canada, who had already been withdrawn by the Venezuelan government, is no longer welcome in Canada.

She also revoked the Venezuelan charge d’affaires’ status.

Freeland says the government will continue to work with its partners in Venezuela “to apply pressure on the anti-democratic Maduro regime and restore the rights of the Venezuelan people.”

Source: Agencies


risingbd/Dhaka/Dec 26, 2017/AI