WILLEMSTAD - The Venezuelan government announced on Wednesday that it is recalling its ambassador from Brazil amid escalating tensions between the two nations. Venezuela accuses the Brazilian government of making “repeated interventionist and impolite statements.” This diplomatic escalation follows weeks of mounting friction since Brazil’s presidential elections at the end of July. After the vote, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva joined international calls to release official polling data, a request that was poorly received in Caracas. 

Relations soured further earlier this month when Brazil vetoed Venezuela’s admission into the BRICS group of emerging economies, a move Venezuela condemned as an “unexplainable and immoral aggression.” According to Brazilian government data, at least 600,000 Venezuelans have migrated to Brazil in recent years.