Venezuela's government said in a statement on Monday it will break diplomatic relations with Paraguay and remove its diplomats from the other South American country, a day after Paraguayan President Santiago Pena expressed support for Venezuela's opposition.
The break comes days before Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is set to be inaugurated for his third term, after a contested July election that both he and former opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez claim to have won.
Pena, who is among several world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, who consider Gonzalez to be Venezuela's president-elect, posted on X on Sunday that he had spoken with Gonzalez via video call and is committed to helping to restore democracy in Venezuela.