WASHINGTON: The United States is to withdraw all remaining diplomatic personnel from Venezuela this week, the US State Department announced late on Monday. “Like the January 24 decision to withdraw all dependents and reduce embassy staff to a minimum, this decision reflects the deteriorating situation in Venezuela as well as the conclusion that the presence of US diplomatic staff at the embassy has become a constraint on US policy,” the State Department said. It did not say on what day the personnel would be withdrawn from the embassy in Caracas. “This decision reflects the deteriorating situation in #Venezuela as well as the conclusion that the presence of US diplomatic staff at the embassy has become a constraint on US policy,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote on Twitter. That day the department also urged Americans living in Venezuela to consider leaving.