MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US and Venezuela in reciprocating game of expelling diplomats

Keiderling ranks as the top US diplomat in Venezuela since the two countries have not had ambassadors since 2010

The United States has expelled Venezuela's top diplomat and two others, after Venezuela kicked out three U.S. diplomats it accused of plotting sabotage. The Caracas government criticized the US response, saying the Venezuelan diplomats had not been meeting with groups opposed to US President Barack Obama.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had accused US Charge d'Affaires Kelly Keiderling and the two other US officials of conspiring with the country’s political opposition when he announced their expulsion Monday. Keiderling ranks as the top US diplomat in Venezuela since the two countries have not had ambassadors in each other's capitals since 2010.

The US State Department has said it rejects allegations the US was involved in “any type of conspiracy” to “destabilize” Venezuela's government. The U.S. embassy in Venezuela and Keiderling herself said the three diplomats' trip to Bolivar state was part of normal diplomatic engagement.

The State Department said it is “regrettable” that the Venezuelan government has again decided to expel US diplomatic officials on what it called “groundless allegations.” The department called the move “counterproductive” to the interests of both countries.

The dispute is a clear setback in Washington's attempts to improve ties with Caracas after the death of populist leader and long-standing US foe Hugo Chavez.

Footage aired on Venezuelan state television was said to prove the now-expelled US diplomats met with opposition and labor leaders to sabotage Venezuela's economy and electrical system. The video showed three people in Bolivar state leaving the offices of Sumate, an electoral-monitoring group that in 2004 helped organize a failed recall vote against Mr. Maduro's predecessor, the late Mr. Chavez.

Venezuela's foreign minister, Elias Jaua, accused the US officials of plotting with Sumate to not recognize the results of Venezuela's upcoming municipal elections on December 8 and to generate disorder, frustration and chaos among the Venezuelan people.

But some critics of President Maduro say he is continuing a Chavez tactic of creating a diplomatic crisis to divert people's attention from the country's economic problems. But despite the strained relations, the US remains Venezuela's top oil buyer.