WASHINGTON — Two Venezuelan diplomats on Thursday effectively ended a singular standoff that has been simmering on a quiet Washington side street since April. In a brief statement to a crowd of supporters, Carlos Vecchio, the ambassador appointed by the Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, and Gustavo Tarre, who represents the Guaidó administration at the Organization of American States, celebrated the eviction of four activists who were the last of a larger group that had occupied the Venezuelan Embassy in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington for over a month. Prompted by the Trump administration’s recognition of Mr. Guaidó’s government, diplomatic officials representing President Nicolás Maduro were expelled last month. In the weeks since, however, a small but dedicated group of activists, including members of Code Pink, moved inside, using the building as a site to protest American pressure on Mr. Maduro’s government, as well as foreign intervention more generally. While there, the activists hung banners and covered windows with political slogans.

Source: New York Times May 17, 2019 03:00 UTC