MEXICO, July 30. /TASS/. Peru’s Foreign Ministry has ordered Venezuelan diplomats to leave the country within 72 hours, according to a statement published on the ministry’s website.
"Following decisions by the Venezuelan authorities, Foreign Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea has handed down instructions to inform Venezuelan diplomatic workers accredited in Peru that they are to leave the country within 72 hours," the statement reads.
Earlier, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry announced that Caracas was recalling its diplomats from Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and Chile - the countries that refused to recognize the re-election of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro - and demanded that these countries recall their diplomats from Venezuela.
Venezuela held its presidential election on July 28. According to the National Electoral Council, with 80% of ballots counted, incumbent head of state Maduro received 51.2% of the vote. His main opponent Edmundo Gonzalez, who represented far-right parties, garnered 44.2%. Corina Machado, one of the opposition’s leaders, refused to recognize the election’s outcome, declaring Gonzalez the winner.