Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday the Venezuelan government will keep its diplomatic delegation in Honduras, despite an expulsion order issued by the country's post-coup government.
"Our staff will stay in Honduras, and they will be defended by the international law," Maduro said in a joint press conference with Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.
He said Honduras' interim government should be responsible for the personal safety of Venezuelan staff in Honduras.
On July 21, Honduran interim Vice Foreign Minister Martha Alvarado ordered the Venezuelan diplomatic mission to leave Tegucigalpa and Honduran representatives to withdraw from Caracas within 72 hours.
Maduro also hailed the U.S. move of suspending visas for those involved in the June 28 coup against ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya.
Moratinos said he supported Venezuela's decision, adding that "Spain will urge the European Union to take similar measures (to the U.S. ones), so President Zelaya can return to Honduras."
Meanwhile, the interim Honduran Foreign Ministry stated in a communique that the status of Venezuelan diplomats in Honduras will be considered an "irregular stay" because they refused to leave before the deadline.
"The Venezuelan citizens who did not obtain any other migratory category are under a situation of irregular stay, so they will be subject to the dispositions included in the Migration and Foreigners Law," the communique said.
Honduras has plunged into a political crisis when Zelaya was forced into exile in a coup on June 28. Zelaya had angered the army, the legislative and judiciary by insisting on a constitutional amendment that would allow him to seek re-election. His demand for reinstatement has been rejected by the post-coup interim government ever since.