European Parliament Chief Calls For EU Response After Venezuela Expels Delegation

European Parliament Chief Calls for EU Response After Venezuela Expels Delegation

European Parliament chief Antonio Tajani lashed out on Monday at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for expelling the parliament's delegation and urged Brussels to act

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th February, 2019) European Parliament chief Antonio Tajani lashed out on Monday at Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro for expelling the parliament's delegation and urged Brussels to act.

"Maduro's regime stops MEPs from doing their job by expelling them. More proof that he is a dictator. I hope that the European Council will respond with measures in line with this latest outrage," he tweeted.

Three Spaniards, a German and a Dutch lawmaker arrived in Venezuela on Sunday at the invitation of the opposition-run National Assembly to meet with its speaker, Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president last month.

Esteban Gonzalez Pons, of the conservative European People's Party, said the delegates' passports were seized upon the arrival and they were forced out of the country. The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry later accused them of conspiracy.

Guaido has been recognized by many EU countries and the United States, while Russia, China, Mexico and others continue to back President Maduro, who has called his rival a US puppet.