03 February 2006
U.S. Expels Venezuelan Envoy After Chavez Ousts U.S. Navy Officer
State Department describes action as appropriate response to Chavez's decision
By Lauren Monsen
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- In response to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's February 2 decision to order the expulsion of a naval attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the United States has declared Jeny Figueredo Frias, a diplomat at the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, "persona non grata."
The dispute, which further exacerbates tensions between the two countries, began with Chavez accusing U.S. naval attaché John Correa of espionage. The U.S. Embassy forcefully has denied the charge and objected to Correa's expulsion. Speaking by telephone to a New York Times reporter on February 2, U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Salome Hernandez said: "None of the [U.S.] military attachés in Caracas was or is involved in inappropriate activities."
In ordering the expulsion of Correa, Chavez also threatened to order the detention and removal of other U.S. military personnel on espionage charges. "If accredited military officials continue with the espionage, we will imprison them; we will order them thrown out," he said.
Scott McCormack, spokesman for the U.S. Department of State, commented on Chavez's action -- and the U.S. response -- while briefing the press February 3. In declaring the Venezuelan diplomat "persona non grata," the United States is allowing her 72 hours to leave the country, he said. Although the United States dislikes engaging in diplomatic tit-for-tat, McCormack said, "the Venezuelans are the ones who initiated" the incident, and U.S. officials felt that a commensurate response was in order.
At the same time, "we have no particular quarrel" with the people of Venezuela, said McCormack. "Our issue rests with the way the Venezuelan government has governed. It has, we believe, governed in a nondemocratic way. That is the issue. We have had concerns about Venezuela's activities in the hemisphere."
Despite ongoing tensions, the Bush administration still hopes to forge a productive partnership with Venezuela on areas of common ground, McCormack told reporters. "We stand ready to work with the Venezuelan government on a variety of different issues," he said. "We have a positive agenda for the hemisphere. We stand ready to work with them on counternarcotics efforts," for example.
"So it's not a matter of left-of-center, right-of-center -- of the political orientation of the particular government," said McCormack. "It has to do with their actions and their behavior, and that's where we have expressed our concern."
For additional information on U.S. policy, see Venezuela.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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