US-Venezuela ambassador expulsions (2008)
Venezuela's Hugo Chávez expelled the US ambassador and recalled his own, accusing Washington of meddling. The US expelled Venezuela's envoy in return. The two countries went years without exchanging ambassadors.
Both embassies ran under lower-ranking diplomats, and cooperation on trade and security shrank.
Relations stayed frozen for more than a decade, showing how fast a dispute over interference can harden into a lasting break.
It marks the step the US-Brazil fight has not taken yet: pulling ambassadors. Scenario 3 tracks whether this dispute crosses that line.
