Venezuela's Houston consulate ordered closed

Houston Chronicle:

The U.S. State Department has revoked the visas and diplomatic privileges of a dozen Venezuelan consular officials after a two-month dispute over the Venezuelan government's plans to relocate its Houston office.

Employees with the consulate general in Houston were given until Sunday to leave the country, or they will become illegal immigrants, a State Department official confirmed Friday. The consular office on Fountain View Drive was locked on Friday, with a notice taped in the window saying it will remain closed until further notice for reasons "beyond our control."

The expulsion stemmed from the Venezuelan Consulate's decision to move its Houston office to another location less than five miles away — apparently without getting permission from the State Department.

Angelo Rivero Santos, the deputy chief of mission at the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, D.C., declined to answer questions about the Houston consular office, instead saying in a statement that "the situation which occurred in the General Consulate of Houston is of a technical nature relating to consular rules; it is not political."

...

The closure follows a major diplomatic spat between the two countries. On Sept. 11, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered U.S. Ambassador Patrick Duddy to leave Venezuela. The next day, the State Department said it was expelling the Venezuelan ambassador to the U.S., Bernardo Alvarez. Chavez accused Duddy of conspiring against the Venezuelan government — a charge denied by U.S. officials.

On Friday afternoon, the consul general in Houston, Antonio Padrino, declined comment. "I'm leaving the U.S. now and can't talk about the situation," he said.

The consulate's closure has concerned and dismayed some in the local Venezuelan community.

The Houston office was responsible for serving all of Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. The nearest consulate is now in New Orleans.

"This is going to be a big problem for many people," said Elio Cequea, a legal permanent resident from Venezuela who has lived in Houston since 1990 and called the situation "a mess."

"There are all kinds of problems between the two governments," Cequea said. "This is payback."

...

Darlene Rivas, an associate professor of history and Latin American studies with Pepperdine University in California, said the problem may be merely "procedural," but "given the political tensions between the two countries, I would not be surprised if this were interpreted as a political move."

This is what happens when someone like Chavez starts acting like a jerk. It means there is no reason to cut his country any slack when it comes to procedural matters. It Chavez had treated the US representatives with respect and good faith, I am sure his Houston Consulate would have gotten some leeway.