Washington - (AFP) - The Venezuelan embassy in Washington announced the closure of its headquarters after the Venezuelan opposition dissolved the "interim government" of Juan Guaido, who has the support of its employees, on Friday.

Guaido declared himself "acting president" in January 2019 and received great international support. The matter led to the return of Venezuelan diplomats , accredited in the American capital and loyal to President Nicolas Maduro, to their country after the Organization of American States agreed to appoint an envoy from the opposition in their place.

Subsequently, supporters of Nicolás Maduro occupied the embassy building in April for several weeks, leading to intense confrontations with supporters of Juan Guaidó and protesters in the street, until the police cleared the building.

Guaidó failed to overthrow Maduro, and the international support he enjoyed gradually dwindled. At the end of December 2022, three main opposition parties in Venezuela supported the dissolution of the "interim government", despite their support for it when it was formed in January 2019.

In the wake of this decision, the embassy said in a statement that it "and all its representatives have officially ceased to exercise their duties" as of Thursday, expressing regret for depriving its citizens in the United States of consular services.

In a statement, the outgoing ambassador, Carlos Vecchio, expressed his regret for the "political, economic and moral error" committed by the opposition in dissolving Guaido's interim government, noting that Nicolas "Maduro is the only beneficiary of this decision."