The Venezuelan consulate in Lisbon was hit by an explosive device on Saturday night, but no one was injured, police said.
advertisementAccording to Lusa News, around 10 p.m. last Saturday, an unidentified person threw a ‘type of Molotov cocktail’ at the wall of the Venezuelan Consulate General building in Lisbon.
A source from Lisbon’s public security police command told Euronews that the PSP was at the scene on Saturday night, setting up a security perimeter “to preserve evidence” and “calling in the fire brigade”. Afterwards, the case was immediately ‘referred to the judicial police’ and is being investigated.
Another police source told Roosa: “No one was harmed.” The same source added that Rusa reported only “material damage”, which was “a more symbolic action because it was about buildings”.
The attack came days after President Nicolas Maduro was inaugurated for a controversial six-year term, even though the opposition claims there is no clear evidence that he won last July’s election.
Venezuela’s opposition party, led by Edmundo Gonzalez and Maria Corina Machado, claimed “the coup is complete.” Machado was briefly detained Thursday as he left a protest in Caracas aimed at blocking Maduro’s inauguration.
The Venezuelan government has already responded to the attack on the consulate general, saying “there are no ‘uncontrolled’ attacks” and that the “Bolivarian revolution” will not be prevented.
“Fascism attacked our consulate general in Lisbon, Portugal with Molotov cocktails and attacked the services provided to our compatriots,” Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil said on his Instagram account.
“Irrational attacks by disproportionate groups will not be able to turn back the progress of the Bolivarian revolution,” the minister added.
Portugal’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and promised to strengthen security at the consulate.
“We are preparing together with Cuba and Nicaragua in case we need to take up arms one day,” Maduro said.
Former Latin American leaders, including former Colombian presidents Álvaro Uribe and Iván Duque, have spoken for the first time about the possibility of international military intervention on Venezuelan soil to end the Bolivarian regime.
And Maduro said in a new declaration on Saturday that he was prepared to “take up arms” and guaranteed that if he had to act “with force,” he would do so to retain power.
In addition to Cuba and Nicaragua, President Maduro can count on support from three allies: China, Russia and Iran.
Venezuela is becoming increasingly isolated
But Maduro has little international support and Venezuela is increasingly isolating itself from the world. The president recently ordered much of Venezuela’s border closed. First, he blocked border crossings with Colombia just before the inauguration, and he plans to do the same with Brazil soon.
“Venezuelan authorities will close the border between Venezuela and Brazil until Monday, January 13,” Lula’s government said in a statement.
