President Nicolás Maduro on Wednesday announced that Venezuela's top diplomat in Washington would be called back to Caracas to protest the decision to renew a U.S. decree imposing sanctions on several top officials from the South American country.
The two nations haven't exchanged ambassadors since 2010 and Maximilien Sánchez Arvelaiz had been Venezuela's acting charge d'affaires in the U.S. capital.
"We don't accept impositions or aggressions," Maduro said in a televised address announcing that the Venezuelan diplomat was being recalled. "Enough of the arrogance."
In March of 2015, President Barack Obama slapped sanctions on seven Venezuelan officials, accusing them of perpetrating human rights violations and public corruption in the socialist-governed country. The individuals all came from the top echelon of the state security apparatus that was responsible for cracking down on anti-government protests that rocked Venezuela in 2104 and for pursuing charges against leading opponents.
The sanctions come after the U.S. Congress passed legislation authorizing penalties that would freeze the assets and ban visas for anyone accused of carrying out acts of violence or violating the human rights of those opposing Venezuela's government.
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On Wednesday, Venezuelan officials said that Obama had sent a letter to leaders of the U.S. legislatures saying the sanctions would be renewed because the situation in Venezuela had not improved.
Maduro said the renewal "is a stain for Obama because he had plenty of opportunities to rectify the situation but imposed arrogance."
The countries have had stormy relations since the late Hugo Chavez became president of Venezuela in 1999.