At first, you might have thought it was a coincidence. One of these annoyances of daily life in a country, Venezuela, ravaged by the economic and social crisis, with decrepit infrastructure. But the French ambassador, Romain Nadal, had to face the facts. Since the beginning of May, the street where his residence is located in Caracas, about five minutes by car from the embassy, has been surrounded by an extraordinary security presence. Filter barriers have been set up at the entrance and exit by the political police, the Sebin. Electricity was cut on May 3, then gas in recent days. Power outages, which are frequent in the capital, usually last a few hours.
Faced with these acts of hostility, which the local authorities did not seek to correct despite multiple exchanges, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Paris, summoned the Venezuelan ambassador for the first time Monday, then Wednesday May 13, to denounce serious breaches of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Its article 25 stipulates in particular that "The receiving State grants all facilities for the accomplishment of the functions of the mission". In a press release published on Wednesday, the Quai d´Orsay expresses its "Firm condemnation of the measures taken in recent days which undermine the normal functioning of our diplomatic representation in Caracas".
Other diplomatic residences are also affected, in this same street in Caracas: those of the United States – deserted since the departure of the ambassador in March 2019 -, Austria and South Africa. Diplomats still present can circulate with their special license plate, without searching the vehicle, but must report to the screening barrier. The French Ambassador’s residence has a diesel generator, which lasts several weeks. Venezuelan gendarmes and employees also live there. Some Venezuelan families living in the neighborhood were forced to move because they did not have the same equipment.
The case leaves little room for doubt: the deadly political crisis in which the country is plunged is at the origin of these exceptional bullying. Opposition leader Juan Guaido, who proclaimed himself interim president on January 23, 2019, has been recognized by around 60 countries. He is notably supported by the United States, which aims to bring down Nicolas Maduro.
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