Venezuelan security forces have surrounded the Argentine embassy in the capital Caracas, which is sheltering six Venezuelan political figures opposed to President Nicolás Maduro.
Members of the Venezuelan opposition have posted photos and videos showing officers from the country’s intelligence agency setting up a protective cordon around the embassy complex.
Opposition figures inside the building said they were under “besiege” by Mr Maduro’s regime.
Argentina’s embassy and interests in Venezuela have been represented by Brazil since diplomatic relations between Argentina and Venezuela broke down over the summer following the results of Venezuela’s presidential election.
Venezuela’s government said on Saturday it had revoked custody of Brazil’s embassy, in an apparent attempt to strip the country of its diplomatic protection.
Argentina is among several countries that have disputed the official results of the presidential election, giving Mr. Maduro a third term.
Others called on the Venezuelan government to release voting data, while Mr Maduro’s allies – including Russia and China – recognised his victory.
Vote counts released by Venezuela’s opposition show their candidate, Edmundo González, has won – but Western nations have yet to recognise him as president-elect.
The Venezuelan government’s latest moves come after Argentina’s foreign ministry said it would ask the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Mr Maduro and other senior officials.
Pedro Urruchurtu Noselli, an adviser to opposition leader María Corina Machado, who has been at the embassy since March, written on X that as of Saturday morning, “there was an increased presence of hooded officers.
“They’ve blocked off traffic on the street. We still have no power.”
Meanwhile, Omar Gonzalez Moreno, another opposition official, said the embassy had been without power since Friday evening.
“The siege and threatened attack on the Argentine diplomatic compound in Caracas, represented by Brazil, by security agents of the Maduro regime continues,” he added.
The Venezuelan government said it was forced to act after discovering “evidence of the use of these facilities… to plan terrorist operations and assassination plots” against Mr Maduro and his deputy.
In a later statement, Brazil said it would continue to represent Argentina’s interests in Venezuela until another government was chosen to take over the role.
The document emphasizes “the inviolability of the premises of the Argentine diplomatic mission”.
“Any attempt to interfere or kidnap asylum seekers staying in our official residences will be severely condemned by the international community,” the Argentine foreign ministry said in a statement.
“Actions like this reinforce the belief that basic human rights are not respected in Maduro’s Venezuela.”
