VENEZUELA: US To Withdraw All Diplomats As Situation “Deteriorates” With Blackouts And Water Shortages

ABC News reports:

The U.S. is withdrawing its remaining diplomatic personnel from the embassy in Venezuela, citing the “deteriorating situation” given days of blackouts, increased water shortages, and the threat of further protests. The decision also comes amid growing concern that American diplomats could become a pawn in the battle with President Nicolas Maduro as the U.S. tries to push him from power.

Despite Maduro’s calls for their expulsion, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had vowed to keep American personnel there to support Juan Guaido, the president of the National Assembly who has been recognized as the country’s interim president by the U.S. and over 50 other countries. But the sudden reversal was announced late Monday night in a statement where Pompeo called embassy staff’s presence a “constraint on U.S. policy.”