Tajani summons Venezuela's chargé d'affaires on Trentini

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 15 - Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani wrote on X Wednesday that he has summoned Venezuela's chargé d'affaires to protest against the lack of information regarding the detention of Italian NGO worker Alberto Trentini and to protest against the expulsion of three Italian diplomats from Caracas.
    "I have summoned this morning the chargé d'affaires of Venezuela to strongly protest against the lack of information regarding the detention of Italian citizen Alberto Trentini and to oppose the expulsion of three of our diplomats from Caracas.
    "Italy will continue to ask Venezuela to respect international laws and the democratic will of its population", wrote Tajani.
    On Tuesday, the family of Alberto Trentini, an Italian NGO worker who was arrested by Venezuelan authorities on November 15, urged the government to deploy "all possible and necessary diplomatic efforts" for his release.
    The family said they have not heard from Trentini since his arrest at a roadblock while he was travelling to Guasdalito from Caracas.
    The young man, who is from Venice and reportedly has a health condition, had travelled to Venezuela on October 17 as part of a mission of international NGO Humanity and Inclusion.
    "The few and informal reports we have received appear to indicate that, a few days after his arrest, Alberto was transferred to Caracas", where he is currently detained, allegedly without having been charged, the family said.
    Meanwhile, Venezuela announced Tuesday that it has reduced to three the number of diplomats who can be accredited at the French, Italian and Dutch embassies due to the "hostile" response of their governments to the installation of President Nicolas Maduro for a third term.
    The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry added that diplomats would need "written authorization to travel more than 40 kilometers from Plaza Bolivar" in the centre of Caracas. (ANSA).