Caracas

U.S. pulls diplomats: After a days-long blackout led to looting and riots across Venezuela, the U.S. said this week that it would remove all remaining diplomatic staff from the country. The presence of American diplomats, said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, “has become a constraint on U.S. policy.” Most of the country was left without electricity following the failure of a major substation in central Venezuela last week. Dozens of people—including babies—died when hospitals lost power, taps ran dry as water pumps stopped working, and already-scarce food rotted in refrigerators. “We’re going to arrive at a moment when we’re going to eat each other,” said Caracas resident Zuly González. President Nicolás Maduro insisted the blackout was the work of the U.S.