Venezuela Retreats From Demand That U.S. Diplomats Leave

(Bloomberg) -- Venezuela walked back its decision to sever diplomatic ties with the U.S., announcing that each country agreed to keep an interest section open in their respective capitals.

The decision was made Friday to keep missions open even as U.S. diplomatic staff were already leaving the country after President Nicolas Maduro expelled them two days earlier, Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said in a statement Saturday.

The rupture was prompted by the U.S. decision to recognize National Assembly leader Juan Guaido, who has come to represent opposition to the autocratic regime, as the nation’s rightful head of state.

There was no immediate response from the U.S.

The decision came on a day in which Guaido’s supporters maintained a united front from the UN to the streets of Caracas and Venezuela’s military attache in Washington declared allegiance to the newcomer. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo told the UN that Maduro must go and the EU demanded speedy elections. In Caracas, Guaido himself asked a crowd to reassure soldiers that they can get amnesty for deserting the president.

In his statement, Arreaza said U.S. personnel in Caracas began leaving Friday in what he called “an effective retreat.” The Venezuelan diplomats in Washington were already returning to Caracas on Saturday, he said.

Now, the governments have 30 days to reach an agreement. Remaining personnel will stay in their respective embassies, protected by "diplomatic prerogatives,” according to the statement.

Interest sections function as de facto embassies.

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