Posted on 01/13/2012 8:34:56 PM PST by La Lydia
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday that his government will close its consulate in Miami after the U.S. government expelled a diplomat. Chavez said he decided the consulate will shut its doors in response to what he called an unfair action by the U.S. State Department...Livia Acosta Noguera, Venezuela’s consul general in Miami, was ordered out of the U.S. last weekend followed an FBI investigation into allegations that she discussed a possible cyber-attack on the U.S. government while she was assigned to the Venezuelan Embassy in Mexico. The allegations were detailed in a documentary aired by the Spanish-language broadcaster Univision.
The documentary was based on recordings of conversations with her and other officials, and alleged that Cuban and Iranian diplomatic missions were involved. Citing audio and video obtained by the students at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Univision said Acosta was seeking information about the servers of nuclear power plants in the U.S.
“There’s no proof that she was going around carrying out espionage,” Chavez said...
The consulate in Miami, which covers the states of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, is one of Venezuela’s largest in the United States. According to U.S. Census figures, the number of Venezuelans in the United States increased from 91,500 in 2000 to 215,000 in 2010.
The Organization of Venezuelans in Exile says 160,000 to 200,000 of those Venezuelans live in Florida.
Closing the consulate is “a maneuver by Chavez to impede the ... (October) presidential elections in Miami, which is the most important electoral center” for Venezuelan voters outside their home country, said Elio Aponte, president of the exile group...
Chavez announced the closure in the middle of his state-of-the-nation speech, which lasted more than eight hours....
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
ping
Don't let the door hitya where the good Lord splitya!
When Venezuela closes their consulate in Miami, will anyone notice?
National Autonomous University of Mexico
yup.
“.......his state-of-the-nation speech, which lasted more than eight hours....”
SHEESH!
So!
Thanks La Lydia.
From the Don’t Let The Door Hit Your Ass On the Way Out desk.
Chevez is still alive? Who knew.
Good.
Venezuela has a consulate in Miami? Who knew?
I wonder how many Venezuelans, or Americans, for that matter, are pounding on that consulate door?
And...then?
“...his state-of-the-nation speech, which lasted more than eight hours....”
Better lay off the Red Bull, Hugo - they say it causes cancer...
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