Caracas-Sana
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced the expulsion of the European Union Ambassador to his country, Isabel Brillante Pedrosa, as part of the response to the European bloc's imposition of new sanctions on his country.
"Today, the head of the European Union mission in Caracas must leave Venezuela within 72 hours," Maduro was quoted by the Russia Today website as saying in a speech from the presidential palace in the capital, Caracas.
Maduror added: "Who are they to try to impose themselves with threats."
The Council of the European Union yesterday included 11 Venezuelan officials on the list of sanctions, accusing them of "undermining democracy and the rule of law" in Venezuela.
