CARACAS, Sha'ban 11, 1437, May 18, 2016, SPA -- The United States is limiting consular services in Venezuela due to staff shortages at its embassy resulting from the South American nation's refusal to grant visas for staff, the embassy in Caracas said, according to Reuters. As of Wednesday, the embassy will no longer provide appointments for first-time applicants for business or tourist visas, according to a statement on its web site. "The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry has refused for many months to issue visas for U.S. Embassy personnel, resulting in staff shortages throughout the Embassy and also preventing visits by technicians to maintain, upgrade and repair our consular computer systems," the statement read. --SPA 23:48 LOCAL TIME 20:48 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w