"There will be no one left in Venezuela. " The Brazilian government of Jair Bolsonaro recalled, Thursday, March 5, " all " its diplomatic staff from Venezuela and asked Caracas to withdraw its representatives in Brazil, a government source told Agence France-Presse (AFP). According to local press, the withdrawal process should take around two months. But the move does not mean closing the embassy, the government source said.
"The Brazilian government is currently assessing how consular assistance will be provided", she added, referring to some 10,000 Brazilians living in Venezuela who may be affected.
Tense relations between Maduro and Bolsonaro
The two countries have had strained relations since the coming to power in early 2019 of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has recognized opponent Juan Guaido as interim president.
"Bolsonaro is training the Brazilian armed forces towards an armed conflict with Venezuela, supporting a group of terrorists who attacked a Venezuelan military barracks", Nicolas Maduro said in mid-February to foreign journalists in Caracas. He was referring to the attack on December 22 by a group of Venezuelan deserters from a military post in the state of Bolivar, bordering on Brazil. Five of the alleged perpetrators of the attack, in which a soldier was killed, later sought asylum in Brazil.
"There are terrorist groups which, from Brazilian territory, are preparing military attacks and incursions against Venezuela and we have the right to defend ourselves", added Maduro, who described his Brazilian counterpart as "Fascist".
A major military exercise, dubbed “Bolivarian Shield 2020”, then took place in several regions of Venezuela, particularly near the borders with Colombia and Brazil.