WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. law enforcement officers raided the Venezuelan Embassy on Thursday to oust a small group protesting U.S. policy toward the oil-rich country, paving the way for the diplomatic compound to be handed to the U.S. envoy of opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido celebrate outside the Venezuelan embassy to the United States after U.S. law enforcement officers arrested and removed the remaining activists sympathetic to embattled President Nicolas Maduro who had been part of a multi-week occupation of the embassy in Washington, U.S., May 16, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Since mid-April, members of three activist groups have been occupying the embassy, a red brick building in the upscale Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, where they say they are “invited guests” of the Venezuelan government.

The activists oppose U.S. intervention in Venezuela to oust President Nicolas Maduro in favor of Guaido, self-proclaimed interim president of the OPEC-member nation.

“I am here standing before you announcing that we have recovered this building thanks to the Venezuelan diaspora,” Carlos Vecchio, Guaido’s representative in Washington, told a group of supporters outside the building late on Thursday.

Vecchio also thanked President Donald Trump’s administration. The building was undergoing safety checks and would be open for business soon, he said.

Authorities arrested the last four protesters on Thursday after utilities for the building were cut off and they ignored an eviction order, the groups say.

A spokesman for Pepco, Washington’s energy utility, said the company does not discuss service to individual properties.

The U.S. Secret Service confirmed officers had helped agents from the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service execute arrest warrants against people inside the embassy.

A U.S. State Department spokeswoman said the government of Guaido, whom the United States recognizes as the leader of Venezuela, asked for U.S. assistance in removing the protesters from the embassy.

“The Venezuelan government, led by Interim President Juan Guaido ... has asked the trespassers to depart the premises,” the spokeswoman said.

Neither agency identified what charges the protesters faced.

Tensions have escalated between the United States and Venezuela as Washington has ratcheted up pressure against the government of Maduro, which it says is illegitimate.

The United States has imposed sanctions against Venezuelan leaders, ordered the withdrawal of diplomatic personnel from Venezuela in March and, on Wednesday, suspended passenger and cargo flights between the United States and Venezuela.

Maduro, who has branded Guaido a U.S. puppet seeking to oust him in a coup, broke off relations with Washington after it recognized Guaido and recalled diplomatic and consular staff.

Representatives of Guaido took control of three of the country’s diplomatic properties in the United States in March.

At its peak, about 50 people from three groups had occupied the Venezuelan Embassy, according to Medea Benjamin, a co-founder of Code Pink, one of the groups involved. </s> U.S. law enforcement officers raided the Venezuelan Embassy on Thursday to oust a small group protesting U.S. policy toward the oil-rich country, paving the way for the diplomatic compound to be handed to the U.S. envoy of opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Since mid-April, members of three activist groups have been occupying the embassy, a red brick building in the upscale Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, where they say they are "invited guests" of the Venezuelan government.

The activists oppose U.S. intervention in Venezuela to oust President Nicolas Maduro in favor of Juan Guaido, the Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president of the OPEC-member nation.

Authorities arrested the last four protesters on Thursday after utilities for the building were cut off and they ignored an eviction order, the groups say.

A spokesman for Pepco, Washington's energy utility, said the company does not discuss service to individual properties.

The U.S. Secret Service confirmed officers had helped agents from State Department's Diplomatic Security Service execute arrest warrants against people inside the embassy.

A U.S. State Department spokeswoman said the government of Guaido, who the United States recognizes as the leader of Venezuela, asked for U.S. assistance in removing the protesters from the embassy.

"The Venezuelan government, led by Interim President Juan Guaido ... has asked the trespassers to depart the premises," the spokeswoman said.

Neither agency identified what charges the protesters faced.

Tensions have escalated between the United States and Venezuela as Washington has ratcheted up pressure against the government of Maduro, which it says is illegitimate.

The United States has imposed sanctions against Venezuelan leaders, ordered the withdrawal of diplomatic personnel from Venezuela in March and, on Wednesday, suspended passenger and cargo flights between the United States and Venezuela.

Maduro, who has branded Guaido a U.S. puppet seeking to oust him in a coup, broke off relations with Washington after it recognized Guaido and recalled diplomatic and consular staff.

Representatives of Guaido took control of three of the country's diplomatic properties in the United States in March.

At its peak, about 50 people from three groups occupied the Venezuelan Embassy, according to Medea Benjamin, a co-founder of Code Pink, one of the groups involved.

Meanwhile, supporters of Guaido have mounted their own protests outside the embassy. Following Thursday's arrests, dozens of the opposition government's supporters celebrated in the streets.

"The liberation of our embassy was thanks to the fight of the Venezuelan diaspora," Carlos Vecchio, Guaido's representative in Washington, wrote on Twitter. "Next liberation: Venezuela."

Benjamin said the activists will continue to protest in what she says is a bid to ease tensions between the two countries. "This issue is not over yet," she said. </s> The decision by US authorities to break into Venezuela's Washington, DC embassy and arrest anti-coup activists on Wednesday is a clear violation of international law, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin told RT.A group calling itself the 'Embassy Protection Collective' has been under siege inside the building for weeks, as supporters of Venezuelan coup leader Juan Guaido called for their removal.Benjamin told RT that Code Pink, an anti-war activist group, received "an urgent call" from members of the 'Collective' on Wednesday morning saying "police had broken down the door and that they were going to be arrested."She denounced police action as a violation of the Vienna ConventionUS authorities had previously cut off power to the embassy in an effort to force activists to leave.Benjamin said the best way to protect both the US embassy in Caracas and the Venezuelan embassy in DC was for the two governments to sign a "Protecting Power Agreement" - something Venezuela's ambassador has been calling for at the United Nations.Benjamin said the break-in by police could be a "a tremendous step toward greater conflict with the US" if Guaido's representatives are now allowed to enter the building.The Trump administration recognized Guaido as Venezuela's self-declared "interim president" in January and helped organize two failed coup attempts against the government of President Nicolas Maduro, which it brands "illegitimate."Asked why anti-intervention activists inside the building had ignored police warnings before Wednesday's raid, Benjamin said the warning to vacate was an "illegal notice.""It was not signed by anybody, it had no address on it, it had no stamp on it or anything," she said. What's more, she added, the "legitimate government" of Venezuela had invited the activists inside and Code Pink does not comply with "illegal orders.""We don't consider this chapter over yet," Benjamin said, calling on the US to "dial down this crisis, lift the economic sanctions [on Venezuela]" and "come to a negotiated solution." </s> U.S. police have evicted a small group of demonstrators from the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, after a weeks-long protest by the group against U.S. policy toward the South American country.

Law enforcement officials raided the building Thursday and arrested four demonstrators, paving the way for the diplomatic compound to be handed to the U.S. envoy of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recognized by the United States.

Demonstrators had been occupying the building in an upscale Georgetown neighborhood since mid-April, saying they consider Nicolas Maduro the legitimate president of Venezuela.

At the start of the protest, more than 30 activists were living inside the embassy, but their numbers gradually dwindled after police threatened to remove them.

Maduro criticized the U.S. police action, calling it shameful. The embassy building had been vacant for more than a month after the Maduro administration pulled its diplomats from Washington. However, once the protesters began occupying the building, the Maduro government gave its support to the demonstrators and said they were "protecting" the building.

Guaido's representative in Washington, Carlos Vecchio, told a group of his supporters outside the building late Thursday the embassy would be open for business soon. He thanked President Donald Trump's administration for recovering the building.

A U.S. State Department spokeswoman said the government of Guaido, whom the United States recognizes as the leader of Venezuela, asked for U.S. help in removing the demonstrators from the embassy.

A lawyer for the activists who were arrested said in a statement they were charged with interference with protective functions.

Guaido, Venezuela's National Assembly leader, declared himself the country's interim president in January, saying Maduro's election in December was a fraud.

In addition to the U.S., Guaido is recognized by about 50 other countries as the legitimate leader of the South American nation, but he has not been able to nudge Venezuela's socialist president from office.

Millions of Venezuelans — exhausted by out-of-control inflation, severe food and fuel shortages, a lack of medical care, and periodic blackouts — have fled the country.

Maduro has accused Guaido of trying to carry out a U.S.- and Colombian-supported coup and says the opposition will fail. </s> on Thursday evicted the last of a group of protestors who have been occupying the in support of Nicolas Maduro, ending a weeks-long standoff.

"The liberation of our embassy came about thanks to the struggle of the Venezuelan diaspora," said Carlos Vecchio, envoy for opposition Juan Guaido, who declared himself earlier this year in a power play against Maduro.

"With sacrifice they held the grounds against all adversity," said Vecchio on

The condemned the eviction, with saying that "once again, the has shown that it finds the truth painful. It reacts with arrogance by violating international law." 



 and firefighting vehicles were seen inside the grounds of the diplomatic mission in the US capital, which was taken over last month by a number of left-wing and pacifist activists protesting Guaido's bid to push Maduro out.

The most high-profile of the groups behind the occupation, CODEPINK, denounced what it called the "illegal entry and arrest at DC Embassy." 



It promised to "keep fighting to protect the embassy from illegal takeover by Guaido forces." "All four of the peace activists who have been inside the embassy have now been arrested," said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, a representing the protesters.

Guaido has been recognized as of the crisis-stricken country by some 50 states, including the

"At this moment the authorities are checking the building to ensure its security before taking it over," Vecchio said.

For more than a month, an unclear number of Americans belonging to a group calling itself the Embassy Protection Collective had been living in the embassy, with the consent of the

The American squatters, whose numbers dwindled to just four people this week after police warned they would enter the building by force, aimed to block the entry of the Guaido delegation to the embassy.

A group of Venezuelans had gathered outside the cordoned-off embassy building Thursday and were chanting slogans such as "Viva " 



"I came to see the results of 14 days of our community action, of staying in our embassy to reclaim what belongs to us," said Roberto Nasser, a 56-year-old Venezuelan, whio had been spending up to 16 hours a day standing outside the building.

He and other Venezuelan residents of the capital had camped outside the embassy and tried to prevent any supplies from being delivered to the squatters inside. </s> US police on Thursday evicted the last of a group of protestors who have been occupying the Venezuelan embassy in Washington in support of President Nicolas Maduro, ending a weeks-long standoff.

"The liberation of our embassy came about thanks to the struggle of the Venezuelan diaspora," said Carlos Vecchio, envoy for opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president earlier this year in a power play against Maduro.

"With sacrifice they held the grounds against all adversity," said Vecchio on Twitter.

Various police and firefighting vehicles were seen inside the grounds of the diplomatic mission in the US capital, which was taken over last month by a number of left-wing and pacifist activists protesting Guaido's bid to push Maduro out.

The most high-profile of the groups behind the occupation, CODEPINK, denounced what it called the "illegal entry and arrest at DC Venezuela Embassy."

It promised to "keep fighting to protect the embassy from illegal takeover by Guaido forces."

Guaido has been recognized as leader of the crisis-stricken country by some 50 states, including the United States.

"At this moment the authorities are checking the building to ensure its security before taking it over," Vecchio said.

A group of Venezuelans had gathered outside the cordoned-off embassy building and were chanting slogans such as "Viva Venezuela."

For more than a month, an unclear number of Americans belonging to a group calling itself the Embassy Protection Collective had been living in the embassy, with the consent of the Maduro government.

The American squatters, whose numbers dwindled to just four people this week after police warned they would enter the building by force, aimed to block the entry of the Guaido delegation to the embassy. </s> BERLIN — European leaders threw their support behind Venezuela’s opposition leader on Saturday ahead of a United Nations Security Council meeting about the country’s political turmoil.

The governments of Germany, Spain and France all stated they would recognize Juan Guaido, who proclaimed himself interim president on Wednesday, as head of state if elections are not called in the coming week.

“Unless elections are announced within eight days, we will be ready to recognize @jguaido as ‘President in charge’ of Venezuela in order to trigger a political process,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on his Twitter feed.

The United States said on Friday it was ready to step up economic measures to drive current President Nicolas Maduro from power, and most Latin American nations have joined Washington in supporting Guaido’s claim on the presidency.

Europe, however, had until now simply called for new elections in the troubled South American country.

Saturday’s U.N. Security Council meeting is being held at Washington’s request.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to address the meeting along with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza and the other council members, which include supporters of both dueling presidents.

Amid the tension, the U.S. on Friday named Elliot Abrams, a hawkish former Republican official, to handle American policy toward Venezuela.

A neoconservative who has long advocated an activist U.S. role in the world, Abrams was assistant secretary of state during the Reagan administration and was convicted in 1991 on two misdemeanor counts of withholding information from Congress during the Iran-Contra scandal. He was later pardoned by President George H.W. Bush.

The session focusing on Venezuela’s crisis comes a day after Guaido vowed to remain on the streets until his country has a transitional government, while Maduro dug in and accused his opponents of orchestrating a coup.

“They can cut a flower, but they will never keep spring from coming,” Guaido told supporters Friday, alluding to a similar phrase from the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.

In rival press conferences, Guaido urged his followers to stage another mass protest next week, while Maduro pushed his call for dialogue. Each man appeared ready to defend his claim to the presidency no matter the cost, with Guaido telling supporters that if he is arrested they should “stay the course” and peacefully protest.

But the standoff could set the scene for more violence and has plunged troubled Venezuela into a new chapter of political turmoil that rights groups say has already left more than two dozen dead as thousands take to the street demanding Maduro step down.

Guaido’s move is the most direct challenge to Maduro’s rule despite years of protests at home and international efforts to isolate the regime amid a growing humanitarian crisis fueled by falling oil prices and government mismanagement.

President Donald Trump’s administration announced it was recognizing the 35-year-old leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly on Wednesday, leading Maduro to say that he was breaking all diplomatic ties with the United States.

U.S. and Venezuelan diplomats are finding themselves caught in the crosshairs. On Wednesday, Maduro gave American diplomats 72 hours to leave the country — an order Washington said it would defy by keeping the embassy open, though it told non-essential staff to leave.

On Friday morning, a caravan of black SUVs escorted a contingent of U.S. embassy workers and their families to the Caracas airport. They were later seen checking into an American Airlines flight.

Maduro, meanwhile, has recalled all Venezuelan diplomats from the U.S. and ordered the nation’s embassy and consulates there closed. Guaido, seeking to sidestep Maduro, has urged all American and Venezuelan staff to stay in their posts.

Maduro has not shown any hint he’s ready to cede power. He called Guaido on Friday “an agent for the gringos in Venezuela,” using a sometimes derogatory term for Americans. But he also said that he would be willing to talk with Trump and the opposition.

“I’m not anti-American,” he said. “I’m anti-imperialist.” </s> Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, right, waves to supporters next to his wife Cilia Flores during a rally in Caracas, Venezuela on April 19.,

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said on Thursday intelligence agents had detained his chief of staff during a pre-dawn raid, putting to the test repeated U.S. warnings that President Nicolas Maduro should not go after his opponents.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a post on Twitter on Thursday, called for Roberto Marrero's immediate release and said "we will hold accountable those involved."

Guaido invoked the constitution in January to assume the interim presidency after declaring Maduro's 2018 re-election a fraud. He has been recognized by the United States and dozens of other Western nations as the country's legitimate leader.

Maduro, who has overseen a dramatic collapse of the OPEC nation's economy, has called Guaido a puppet of the United States and said he should "face justice," but has not explicitly ordered his arrest.

Top U.S. officials have repeatedly warned Maduro not to touch Guaido and his inner circle and threatened ever harsher sanctions intended to further isolate Maduro and cut off his administration's sources of revenue.

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton warned Maduro earlier this month that Guaido's safety must be guaranteed and that the world was watching.

"They have kidnapped @Robertomarrero, my chief of staff," Guaido said in a post on Twitter, adding that the Caracas residences of Marrero and opposition legislator Sergio Vergara had been raided before dawn. "We do not know their whereabouts. They should be freed immediately."

Stay up to date: Sign up to our newsletter Email * Please enter a valid email address Sign up Please wait… Thank you for signing up. We've got more newsletters we think you'll find interesting. Click here Oops. Something went wrong. Please try again later. Try again Thank you, The email address you have provided is already registered. Close

Marrero recorded a voice message as agents from the SEBIN intelligence service were trying to enter his home in Caracas' upscale Las Mercedes neighborhood, which Guaido's press team forwarded to reporters.

"I am in my house and the SEBIN is here. Unfortunately, they have come for me. Keep in the fight, don't stop and look after the president," Marrero said.

Vergara, Marrero's neighbor, said some 40 armed SEBIN agents forced their way into their homes and spent three hours inside.

The SEBIN left with Marrero and Vergara's driver, the legislator said in a video posted on his Twitter account.

Guaido's press team also sent a video showing damage to the door of Marrero's home and its broken lock.

Guaido said that Marrero had told Vergara that agents had planted two rifles and a grenade in his house. Venezuela's Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Since January, Venezuelan authorities have arrested over 1,000 people in connection with anti-government demonstrations, rights groups say.

U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Wednesday that Venezuelan security forces, backed by pro-government militias, have quashed peaceful protests with the excessive use of force, killings and torture.

Maduro says his government is the victim of an "economic war" led by his political adversaries and blames U.S. financial and oil sector sanctions for the country's situation.

With Washington already having imposed extensive sanctions on Caracas, the humanitarian and political costs of further blanket measures could be high, with millions of Venezuelans already suffering shortages of food and medicine.

Venezuela is reeling from annual inflation topping 2 million percent, which has fueled malnutrition and preventable disease and spurred an exodus of more than 3 million citizens in since 2015.

While President Donald Trump has said all options remain open, there appears to be little support in Washington or regional Latin American capitals for any military intervention.

"The United States condemns raids by Maduro's security services and detention of Roberto Marrero," Pompeo said on Twitter, noting those responsible would be held to account.

Guaido had traveled around South America in February to drum up diplomatic support for his government, defying a travel ban imposed by the pro-government Supreme Court.

He later entered the country via Venezuela's principal airport without being detained by immigration officials.

Venezuela's chief state prosecutor, Tarek Saab, last week asked the Supreme Court to open an investigation into Guaido for alleged involvement in the "sabotage" of the country's electrical network, after the longest nationwide power blackout in decades.

The opposition, along with electrical experts, said the power outage was due to the government's incompetence and years of little maintenance. </s> A Venezuelan opposition lawmaker sought refuge in Argentina's embassy in Caracas Thursday, hours after the detention of a key figure in the movement over last week's failed uprising against President Nicolas Maduro.

Richard Blanco is one of 10 National Assembly members charged with treason for supporting opposition leader Juan Guaido's call for a military revolt on April 30.

"I've come here to sleep because my life is in danger," Blanco told the VPI television station, adding that we would stay only "temporarily."

Blanco sought sanctuary after Edgar Zambrano, the vice-president of Venezuela's opposition-controlled parliament, was seized by intelligence agents on Wednesday night.

The 64-year-old's car was surrounded outside his Democratic Action Party's headquarters before it was towed, with him still in it, to the notorious Helicoide prison.

He narrated the drama in real time on Twitter, while images of the incident also circulated on social media.

"Democrats, keep up the fight!" tweeted Zambrano.

Another lawmaker, Mariela Magallanes, had escaped to the Italian embassy, Rome announced on Wednesday.

Zambrano is deputy to National Assembly speaker Guaido, who organized the April 30 revolt by around 30 members of the armed forces, many of whom subsequently fled to the Brazilian embassy.

Venezuela was plunged into turmoil in January when Guaido declared himself acting president in a direct challenge to Maduro's authority.

He has since been recognized as interim president by more than 50 countries as he steps up the pressure to oust Maduro, whom he considers illegitimate after 2018 elections widely seen as fraudulent.

But the socialist leader remains steadfast, backed by Venezuela's powerful military high command.

"We warn the people of Venezuela and the international community: the regime has kidnapped the first vice-president" of the National Assembly, said Guaido.

"They are trying to destroy the power representing all Venezuelans, but they will not achieve it," Guaido said.

The United States, European Union and several Latin American states criticized Zambrano's arrest.

On the Twitter account of its now-closed embassy in Caracas, Washington called the detention "illegal and inexcusable," warning of "consequences" if he is not immediately released.

US President Donald Trump -- whose government was among the first to back Guaido -- said he was "discussing the terrible abuses by Maduro."

Trump did not mention Zambrano but said the US would stand with the people of Venezuela "for however long it takes."

The EU and several of Venezuela's neighbors protested Zambrano's arrest while the country's Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza vowed to bring to justice "accomplices to an unconstitutional military uprising,

Venezuela's Supreme Court meanwhile added three more lawmakers to the seven already indicted for treason and conspiracy over their backing of Guaido's uprising.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab says the two days of clashes that followed left six people dead.

The Constituent Assembly, which Maduro created to sideline the National Assembly, has said it would suspend the immunity of any lawmakers who backed the uprising.

Guaido said in a speech after the first indictments on Tuesday that the government's "only response... is to persecute, because they no longer govern, because they no longer have command."

Venezuela has suffered five years of recession that has seen more than 2.7 million people flee poverty, hyperinflation, food shortages and insecurity since 2015, according to United Nations figures.
U.S. federal agents raid the Venezuelan embassy to evict Code Pink protesters, at the request of National Assembly leader Juan Guaido. They had been staying at the embassy at the invitation of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is locked in a dispute over the presidency with Guaido. Maduro's government considers the raid to be a violation of the Vienna convention.