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US expels Venezuela consul general amid cyber attack plot allegations
Venezuela’s consul general in Miami has been expelled by the US amid reports linking her to an alleged Iranian plot to target sensitive American facilities with cyber attacks.
Livia Acosta Noguera was declared persona non grata by the US State Department, who have given her until Tuesday to leave the country.
“We cannot comment on specific details behind the decision to declare Ms Acosta persona non grata at this time,” William Ostick, a State Department said.
The State Department had said last month it was looking into “very disturbing” allegations that Ms Acosta was a participant in an alleged Iranian plot to launch cyber-attacks on sensitive US national security facilities.
According to the Spanish-language TV network, Univision, Ms Acosta was taped discussing the alleged plot with Mexican students who later sought asylum in the US. The discussions reportedly took place in 2007 while she was serving at the Venezuelan embassy in Mexico City.
Her expulsion comes as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, kicks off a Latin American tour in Caracas. Hugo Chavez, his Venezuelan counterpart, has long sided with Tehran in the war of words with Washington over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Leon Panetta, the US Defence Secretary, meanwhile warned yesterday that US forces would be sent into action to oppose any attempt to blockade the oil shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has threatened to blockade the waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s crude passes, if the West uses sanctions to shut its oil out of world markets.
“We made very clear that the the United States will not tolerate the blocking of the Strait or Hormuz - that’s another red line for us - and that we will respond to them,” said Mr Panetta
The comments came as Iran’s underground uranium enrichment facility was reportedly put into operation at the Fordow facility near the holy city of Qom.