Earlier this week, the UN agency expressed “deep concern” over the detention of prominent human rights activist Rocio San Miguel.

Venezuela has ordered the local office of the United Nations human rights agency to suspend operations and given its employees 72 hours to leave the country, accusing it of encouraging resistance against the South American country.

Foreign Minister Yvan Gil announced the decision at a press conference in the capital Caracas on Thursday.

He said the office – the local technical advisory office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – had been used by the international community “to maintain a discourse” against Venezuela.

The move came two days after the UN agency expressed “deep concern” over the detention of prominent human rights activist Rocio San Miguel and called for her “immediate release.”

Gil said the U.N. legal office had taken on an “inappropriate role” and had become “the private law firm of coup plotters and terrorists who are constantly conspiring against the country.”

He said the decision would remain in effect until the agency “publicly corrects its colonialist, abusive and United Nations Charter-violating posture before the international community.”

In a statement, the Venezuelan government said it had decided to suspend the activities of the UN rights office and “implement a holistic review of the terms of technical cooperation.” The review will take place in the next 30 days, it said.

It was not immediately clear whether the Venezuelan government had directly informed the UN of its order to close the office. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said during his daily briefing on Thursday that he had just been informed of the decision and would follow up with members of the press.

The UN Human Rights Office has been operating in Venezuela since 2019.

Human rights activist arrested

San Miguel, 57, was arrested in the immigration area of ​​a Caracas airport last Friday, sparking an international outcry.

Prosecutors accuse her of involvement in the recent suspected assassination attempt on President Nicolas Maduro, which the government says was backed by the United States.

Authorities said in January they had uncovered five attacks on Maduro involving human rights activists, journalists and soldiers.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, based in Geneva, Switzerland, expressed “deep concern” on Tuesday over San Miguel’s detention.

In a post on social media platform X, the office called for “her immediate release” and respect for her right to legal defense.

Shortly before Gil’s announcement on Thursday, the UN agency called for respect for “due process guarantees, including the right to defense” in her case.

San Miguel’s detention comes in a difficult election year in which Maduro has already blocked his main opposition rival, prompting the US to threaten to reinstate recently relaxed oil sanctions.

San Miguel is the founder of an NGO called Citizen Control, which studies security and military issues, such as the number of citizens killed or mistreated by security forces. She has detailed the military’s involvement in illegal mining operations and a recent femicide in the army.

International human rights groups see the arrests as a coordinated plan to silence government critics and perceived opponents.