Chavez asks Colombia to remove Consul or face expulsion (UPDATED II)

by rahul | November 30, 2008 at 11:14 am

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Caracas, Venezuela, 30 November, 2008. Today, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez asked Colombian government to promptly remove its Consul at Maracaibo, Carlos Galvis Fajardo, or face his expulsion from the country. On Saturday night, Official VTV anchor, Alberto Nolia, aired a telephone conversation between the Colombian Consul and José Obdulio Gaviria who is President Uribe´s adviser and a relative of notorious drug dealer Escobar Gaviria. During the phone conversation, Colombian Consul Carlos Galvis Fajardo expressed his happiness over the results of last Sunday local elections in Venezuela; Consul Galvis Fajardo welcomed the official defeat of the government at Zulia and Tachira states that neighbour Colombia. In addition, he confirmed the willingness of the opposition winners- Manuel Rosales and Pablo Perez- to the Colombian plans.

On various occasions, Venezuelan government has warned over the opposition efforts to promote separatist movements in states bordering Colombia. Such separatist plans would emulate the ones enacted by the US led opposition in Bolivia against President Evo Morales.

According to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, Consuls are prevented from participating into local politics or any conspirancy. Unlike, diplomats, they are only provided some facilities in respect to the duties performed as consular representative alone. Last night, Venezuelan government contacted Bogota over the Consul´s remarks and assistance to the local opposition. After Chavez announcement, Colombia Foreign Affairs Minister, Jaime Bermudez, informed the consul will be removed. In reaction to his expulsion/removal, Colombian Consul Carlos Galvis stated the telephone of the Consular office had been violated; he should be leaving Venezuela soon.

The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations... was completed in 1963 as a multilateral treaty to codify consular practices that developed through customary international law, numerous bilateral treaties, and a number of regional treaties.

The VCCR enumerates basic legal rights and duties of signatory States, including:

the establishment and conduct of consular relations, by mutual consent, and

the privileges and immunities of consular officers and offices from the laws of the “receiving State” (the country where the foreign consular office has been established).