Photo by Gary Raynaldo / Consulate General of Venezuela at 7 E. 51st  Street Upper East Side Manhattan, NY City closed Friday January 25, 2019.

By Gary Raynaldo   DIPLOMATIC TIMES

There were no passport or visa services at the Consulate General of Venezuela in New York City Friday as its doors were closed for business, according to those who had appointments. The Consulate General in New York was closed a day after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced his decision to shut the Venezuela Embassy and consulates in the United States.  There was a NYPD police car outside the Consulate General monitoring the facility. Yesterday,  a large anti-Maduro rally took place in front of the Consulate General Thursday alongside a pro-Maduro gathering.

Photo by Gary Raynaldo /  Consulate General of Venezuela at 7 E. 51st  Street Upper East Side Manhattan, NY City.

Diplomatic Times called the  office of the Consulate General of Venezuela but no one answered and was unable to leave messages because the voicemail said it was full.  It has been a chaotic week for Venezuela.  The Trump administration announced it recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the new interim President of Venezuela.   Guaidó declared himself the country’s interim president amid nationwide protests Wednesday, in a bid to seize power from Maduro. Meanwhile,  Maduro, who steadfastly insists he his Venezuela’s legitimate president,  said his government is breaking relations with the United States in retaliation.  Maduro then gave notice  to all U.S. diplomatic personnel to leave the country in 72 hours.

Photo by Gary Raynaldo / Poster of former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in window of New York Consulate General.

Photo by Gary Raynaldo / NYPD patrol car with 2 policeman ‘monitoring’ the Consulate General of Venezuela Friday evening Jan. 25, 2019.

Guaidó urged Venezuelan diplomats overseas to disobey Maduro’s orders to leave the United States and close the embassy in Washington  as well as the consulates in Miami, New York, Houston, New Orleans, San Francisco, Chicago and Puerto Rico.