MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Blast reported at Venezuela's consulate in Lisbon

The premises were empty at the time of the attack - hence no injuries

An explosive device went off late Saturday at Venezuela's consulate in Lisbon. Nobody was injured because at the time of the attack which local media said consisted of a Molotov cocktail, the offices were closed. “The Portuguese government strongly condemns the attack on the Venezuelan consulate in Lisbon,” Portugal's Foreign Ministry posted on X.

The Portuguese Government of Prime Minister Luís Montenegro ordered “the immediate reinforcement of security and the corresponding police investigation,” the Ministry also pointed out while insisting that “the inviolability of diplomatic missions must be respected in all cases.”

Portuguese Police told EFE that around 22:00 local time on Saturday “something similar” to a Molotov cocktail was thrown against the consulate, which caused, “as far as it seems, some damage to the outside of the shutter” of the building, with no record of injuries.

The attack came a day after Nicolás Maduro was sworn in for a new six-year term following the controversial July 28, 2024, elections both he and opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia claimed to have won.

There are about 10,000 Venezuelans living in Portugal. The local Venezuelan community organized several protests against the Chavist leader in several Portuguese cities and in support of González Urrutia.

In Caracas, Foreign Minister Yván Gil blamed “fascism” for the event. “The irrational aggressions of deviant groups will not succeed in reversing the advances of the Bolivarian Revolution,” he added. He also thanked “the Portuguese authorities for their swift intervention.”

The attack in Lisbon also took place at a time when Venezuelans were celebrating the International Antifascist World Festival, during which Maduro called for the creation of a global “anti-fascist” alliance to “defend the development of the peoples and democracy” in the region.

“This movement must advance in the conformation of a great anti-fascist global alliance; broad and diverse, for peace, democracy, and the development of the peoples,” Maduro also pointed out.

In addition, Comando con Venezuela group supporting González Urrutia and his Unitarian Democratic Platform (PUD) condemned the attack against the consulate. “We categorically reject and condemn categorically any act of violence, and we join the call that reiterates the inviolability and protection of diplomatic missions and the importance of their safeguarding, as stipulated in international law,” they wrote on X.

At around the same time, former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe called for an international military intervention “to remove the dictatorship from Venezuela.”

Molotov bombs are homemade incendiary devices consisting basically of a glass bottle containing a flammable liquid, such as gasoline, and a wick, which is usually a rag soaked in the same fuel. When the bottle is thrown and breaks, the flammable liquid is exposed to the fire from the wick, causing an ignition that generates flames and can cause fires.