Dominican Republic rejects Maduro’s decision to invalidate Brazil from representing Argentina

The Dominican Republic affirmed on Tuesday that it joins the “firm international rejection” of the Venezuelan government’s decision to unilaterally invalidate the recognition granted to Brazil as the representative of Argentina’s interests in Venezuela, including the protection of its assets and diplomatic archives.

“This conduct is a flagrant violation of international norms, especially the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations of 1961 and 1963 respectively,” the Dominican Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The organization added that “this action unjustly aggravates the political persecution against Venezuelan citizens who have requested asylum at the Argentine Embassy in Caracas,” under the protection of the agreements of the Caracas Convention on Diplomatic Asylum of 1954.

“We reiterate our solidarity with Argentina and Brazil in this situation and urge Venezuela to comply with its international commitments, respecting the inviolability of diplomatic missions and the rights of persons under diplomatic protection,” the Dominican Foreign Ministry said.

The Dominican government also reiterated its previous condemnation of the arrest warrant against former Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia and regretted that the political persecution against him had forced him to leave his country.

“In this regard, we call on the Venezuelan authorities to reconsider their decision in a spirit of dialogue and seek diplomatic avenues that promote stability and respect for international agreements,” the diplomatic note concluded.

The Dominican Ministry of Foreign Affairs concluded its position by highlighting that “only through coexistence and the peaceful resolution of disputes will we be able to advance towards results that protect human rights and strengthen peace and security in our region.”

The Argentine government acknowledged on Tuesday that it is “moving forward” to ensure that the six Venezuelan opposition members who have taken refuge in its embassy in Caracas “have absolutely no problems” following the decision by Nicolás Maduro’s government to revoke Brazil’s authorization to guard the diplomatic headquarters.

“Venezuela is an issue that we take with great caution and when we actually have something defined and we actually have some progress in these matters, we will communicate it to you,” said presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni, in his usual press conference at the Casa Rosada (headquarters of the Executive)..