Featured image: A street view of the damage at the Venezuelan consul in Bogotá. Photo: Últimas Noticias.
This Monday, April 18, the Venezuelan government condemned the vandalization and arson which took place at the Venezuelan consulate in Bogotá earlier the same day.
Several news agencies reported that early Monday morning a serious fire broke out at the Venezuelan consulate.
The United States and its client government in Colombia are the leaders of the recent anti-Chavista campaign and coup attempts carried out against Venezuelan authorities. Diplomatic relations between Venezuela and the aforementioned countries were severed in 2019 just days after their failed “regime change” operation, which sought to install Juan Guaido as the alleged interim president of Venezuela. Bogota, as well as Washington, has shown little to no respect for international conventions concerning diplomacy, with the US forcibly occupying Venezuelan diplomatic offices in US territory, while Colombia has promoted and allowed Venezuelan diplomatic offices on their soil to be vandalized.
Meanwhile on Venezuelan soil, in a clear sign of adherence to international law, Venezuela has fully respected the diplomatic offices of these aggressive countries. This was attested to a few months ago by a group of US solidarity activists in Venezuela as electoral observers, lead by David Paul.
“At approximately 2:00 a.m., the residents of the area called the 123 emergency line to report that they had seen flames up to three feet high,” wrote the press. “Two fire engines from the official Cedritos firefighters corps arrived to control the flames.”
According to a statement issued by the Venezuelan foreign minister, “the lack of security and protection at this consular office violates the terms of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.”
In this regard, Venezuela is urging the Colombian government, via an official statement, to provide the diplomatic and consular offices the respect they deserve.
#COMUNICADO| Gobierno Bolivariano denuncia vandalización en incendio de sede consular en Bogotá#18abril pic.twitter.com/qQXIGyhTMC
— Cancillería Venezuela 🇻🇪 (@CancilleriaVE) April 18, 2022
What follows is the full text of the official statement of the chancellor of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela:
The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, before the international community, condemns the vandalization and arson which occurred at the consular offices of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Bogotá early Monday morning on April 18, 2022. The lack of security and protection allocated to these consular offices is in violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations Article 22 and 45, of which both nations are signatories.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in strict accordance with the Vienna Convention, reiterates once again that: “The consular spaces are sacrosanct. The receiving nation has the special obligation to adopt all of the necessary measures to protect the consular spaces against all intrusions or damage, and to prevent the consulate’s tranquility from being disturbed, its dignity from being attacked, even in the case of a diplomatic rupture between the two states, or if a consular mission is temporarily or definitively suspended.”
Thus, we directly reject that the offices of the General Consulate of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, located on the Northern Highway #105 in the city of Santa Fe of Bogotá, in the Republic of Colombia, since 2019, have been permanently subjected to illegal actions, making the receiving nation, through its actions or lack thereof, stand in flagrant and continued violation of the basic norms upon which diplomatic and consular relations stand.
The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela demands that the Colombian Government allocate the due respect and security to the diplomatic and consular offices of Venezuela in Colombia. The diplomatic and consular centers of Venezuela are not operational, despite some media outlets suggesting they are, yet their safeguarding is the international responsibility of the receiving nation.
Featured image: A street view of the damage at the Venezuelan consul in Bogotá. Photo: Últimas Noticias.
(Últimas Noticias) by Janna Corredor, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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