BEIJING -- The economic and commercial affairs office under the Chinese
embassy in Venezuela was robbed of over 14,000 U.S. dollars on Saturday, a
spokesperson with the Chinese Foreign Ministry has confirmed.
At 10 a.m. local time, eight
armed men, without masks, broke into the office and threatened the Chinese
diplomatic staff with guns. They ordered the staff to hand over the key to the
office safe before binding their arms and legs with ties and telephone wires.
Twenty minutes after they had broken in, the men made off with 10,000 U.S.
dollars in cash and 4,000 U.S. dollars of local currency. No one was injured in
the incident.
The embassy reported the incident to the local Venezuelan authorities
immediately and informed the Venezuelan ministries of foreign and domestic
affairs.
Chinese public security officials on Monday met with Venezuelan military
officers and asked the police to step up their investigations into the case.
The Chinese side also called for stronger measures to ensure the security of
Chinese citizens, diplomats, organizations and companies in
Venezuela.
