The Venezuelan government denounced this Tuesday the forced opening of a Venezuelan diplomatic pouch at Tocumen International Airport in Panama and demanded that the Panamanian authorities strictly comply with the norms governing diplomatic and consular activity. «Its violation sets a dangerous precedent that affects the legal security of our missions and violates the right to identity of the Venezuelan community residing in Panamanian territory,» indicated the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry in a statement published on Telegram. The Chavista executive indicated that this act constitutes a direct and flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, whose «Article 27 clearly establishes the inviolability of the diplomatic pouch, which cannot be opened or detained under any circumstances». Likewise, it said that in the face of this «outrage», it demands full guarantees of non-repetition and urges the Panamanian authorities to strictly comply with the norms governing diplomatic and consular activity, «considering the will expressed by both governments to reactivate consular services». In June 2025, both governments announced the reactivation of their consular services, both in Caracas and in the Panamanian capital. The Ministry of Foreign Relations of Panama then indicated that due to the «imperious need» of its nationals in Venezuelan territory, it agreed with the South American country to reactivate both consulates. As early as May of that same year, flights between Caracas and Panama City had been resumed, which had been suspended since July 2024, after the government of José Raúl Mulino questioned the presidential elections in which the electoral body proclaimed the victory of Nicolás Maduro, while the majority opposition denounced «fraud». In addition to Panama, the governments of the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay, and Peru had then expressed their deep concern over the development of the presidential elections and demanded a complete review of the results that declared Maduro the winner.
