GUATEMALA CITY – Guatemala asked Venezuela and Sweden on Thursday to remove their ambassadors from the Central American country, accusing them of interfering in its internal affairs.
A government press release said Guatemala wants Swedish ambassador Anders Kompass and Venezuelan diplomat Elena Alicia Salcedo to depart.
Kompass is a well-known diplomat and human rights defender. A few days earlier he had announced Sweden's financial support for a United Nations-sponsored commission investigating corruption in Guatemala.
The commission, which goes by the initials CICIG, had accused Guatemala President Jimmy Morales of corruption related to alleged illegal campaign financing while he was secretary general of his party.
But the government did not say why it was expelling both ambassadors beyond alleging their "interference in its internal affairs."
In a press conference, Guatemalan foreign minister Sandra Jovel described the move as a sovereign decision by her government.
She said there were no plans to expel other diplomats in her country. "If they behave in a correct manner, we will treat them in a correct manner."