Venezuela's Maduro expels US diplomats, rejects sanctions

Venezuela has ordered the expulsion of the top two US diplomats in the country, charging it was the victim of a "political and financial lynching" after Washington tightened sanctions over Nicolas Maduro's re-election.

Maduro announced the expulsions in a televised speech after being officially proclaimed the winner of Sunday's election in the South American nation mired in an acute economic crisis and facing growing international isolation.

The vote was boycotted by the main opposition parties and widely condemned by the international community, including the United States, which denounced it as a "sham."
A State Department official told AFP that Washington had "not received notification from the Venezuelan government through diplomatic channels," but that if the expulsions are confirmed, "the United States may take appropriate reciprocal action."
He promised to present "evidence" that both diplomats were engaged in a political, military and economic "conspiracy."
The foreign ministry earlier lashed out at the US sanctions, accusing Washington of intensifying a "criminal financial and economic blockade," which it called a crime against humanity for impeding "access to essential goods."