Livia Acosta Noguera: U.S. Orders Expulsion of Venezuelan Diplomat

The United States government has expelled Venezuela’s consul in Miami, following an investigation by the FBI into her past activities.

Livia Acosta Noguera allegedly discussed possible cyber-attacks on American targets while she was stationed at Venezuela’s embassy in Mexico four years ago.

Noguera has officially been declared persona non grata by the State Department, the most serious form of censure that can be applied to a foreign diplomat, according to UPI.

According to reports, four members of the U.S. Congress had written to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton last month to express their concerns about the diplomat.

The letter stated that during a broadcast on the Spanish language TV network Univision in December, Noguera pondered the possibility of attacking the computer systems of the White House, FBI, CIA, Pentagon, National Security Agency and several nuclear power facilities -- and even discussed this matter with diplomats from Cuba and Iran.

She has also been linked to Venezuela's own spy agency, the Bolivarian Intelligence Service, UPI stated.

However, the US state department did not provide a specific reason for Noguera’s expulsion order.

Members of the Venezuelan community in Florida has also asked the State Department to investigate other Venezuelan diplomatic staff in the U.S.

We ask that they deepen their investigation into consular officials who remain and represent a threat to U.S. security and its residents. They will continue the actions developed by Livia Acosta on U.S. soil, said a statement from the Organization of Politically Persecuted Venezuelans in Exile.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez – a long-time foe of Washington – apparently made no mention of Noguera in his latest weekly broadcast.

Interestingly, Caracas is currently hosting none other than Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is making his fifth visit to the Latin American country. The Iranian leader will also journey to Cuba and Ecuador during his week-long sojourn.