Venezuela Denounces Vandalism of Its Consulate in Bogota

Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza Tuesday denounced that crooks broke into his country’s consulate in Bogota looting and vandalizing it.

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"The compound of the Venezuelan consulate in Bogota was completely looted and trashed," Arreaza tweeted, stressing that "the Colombian state must respond."

The diplomat blamed Colombia’s government for the incident, pointing out that it left the diplomatic mission unprotected, in violation of international conventions.

"The Colombian government commits a flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations by allowing, by action or omission, the illegal occupation of our consular headquarters in Bogota," he added.

As stated in the Article 45 of the Vienna Convention, even if two States broke off diplomatic relations, or if a mission is permanently or temporarily recalled, “the receiving State must, even in case of armed conflict, respect and protect the premises of the mission, together with its property and archives.”

In response, "Venezuela reserves the right to carry out reciprocal diplomatic actions to compensate for this unacceptable aggression,” Arreaza said.

Early 2019, Bogota formally recognized opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido as Venezuela's president, spiking tensions with Caracas.

Diplomatic relations between these two countries are severed since February 2019, when President Nicolas Maduro cut off ties over unauthorized U.S.-sponsored aid deliveries from Colombian territory.