Chief European Union diplomat in Venezuela leaves country

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The chief European Union diplomat in Venezuela has left the country, a week after the government of Nicolás Maduro declared her persona non grata and ordered her expulsion. Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa on Tuesday tweeted a photograph of Caracas showing the mountain range that flanks the Venezuelan capital to the north and the message “infinite thanks to all Venezuelans for their affection.” The expulsion followed the EU’s decision to impose sanctions on several Venezuelan officials accused of undermining democracy or violating human rights. Last year, Brilhante Pedrosa was also declared persona non grata and ordered to leave Venezuela, but the government allowed her to stay on that occasion.