Argentina accuses Venezuela of cutting power to its embassy after meeting with opposition leaders

Argentina on Tuesday accused Venezuela of cutting the electricity supply to its embassy in Caracas after the diplomatic mission hosted a meeting with the country’s opposition leaders, the latest sign of souring relations between the two South American nations’ ideologically opposed governments.

Argentina on Tuesday accused Venezuela of cutting the electricity supply to its embassy in Caracas after the diplomatic mission hosted a meeting with the country’s opposition leaders, the latest sign of souring relations between the two South American nations’ ideologically opposed governments. In a statement, the Office of Argentine President Javier Milei claimed the embassy’s power was turned off Monday in a “deliberate action that endangers the safety of Argentine diplomatic personnel and Venezuelan citizens under protection.” Argentine diplomats had invited the Venezuelan opposition leaders, who were not named in the statement, to the mission out of concern stemming from “the deterioration of the institutional situation and the acts of harassment and persecution directed against political figures in Venezuela,” it added. CNN has contacted the governments of Venezuela and Argentina for comment. Tensions have been simmering between Buenos Aires and Caracas after Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolás Maduro criticized far-right Milei’s election victory in November last year, claiming the “neo-Nazi extreme right” had won power in Argentina, CNN en Español previously reported. Venezuela’s opposition has accused Maduro’s government of repressing its leaders and stifling any free and fair campaigning ahead of the country’s presidential elections on July 28.