EU expels Venezuelan ambassador from bloc in sanctions rift By (0) The European Union on Thursday expelled Venezuela's ambassador to the bloc in retaliation to Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza (L) giving Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa (R), the EU's ambassador to the South American nation, 24 hours to leave the country. Photo courtesy of Venezuela Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Twitter Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Member states of the European Union agreed on Thursday to expel the Venezuela ambassador from the intergovernmental body in retaliation for the South American nation declaring the bloc's delegation no longer welcome within its borders over newly imposed EU sanctions. The EU declared Claudia Salerno Caldera, Venezuela's ambassador, persona non grata, it said in a statement a day after Venezuela imposed the same label upon the bloc's Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa.