U.S. Orders Non-Emergency Government Employees Out of Venezuela

(Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Michael Pompeo ordered all non-emergency U.S. government employees to leave Venezuela because of increased danger to Americans after President Donald Trump recognized Juan Guaido as the country’s leader.

Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday gave U.S. diplomats 72 hours to leave, an order that Pompeo said the U.S. would ignore. The State Department will maintain a skeleton staff of diplomats at the embassy in Caracas so it can say it’s keeping a presence there.

In an advisory, the State Department also said that the “U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Venezuela. ” It said they should “strongly consider” leaving and warned them to have sufficient supplies if they need to shelter in place.

Read more: A QuickTake on why regime change is on the table in Venezuela

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