Venezuelan consulate abandoned two days after it was taken over by supporters of self-declared interim president Juan Guaido Venezuela's diplomatic mission in New York City has been abandoned The consulate was overrun by supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido Guaido's envoy to the United States said that the opposition has also taken control of two other government buildings in Washington, D.C. Carlos Vecchio, the envoy, says he expects the opposition to take over the Venezuelan embassy in Washington 'in the days to come' By Dailymail.com Reporter and Reuters Published: 01:22 GMT, 21 March 2019 | Updated: 01:22 GMT, 21 March 2019 Viewcomments Dramatic images show the Venezuelan consulate in New York City abandoned and desolate after it was taken over by officials loyal to the country's opposition leader. Representatives of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido took control of three of the country’s diplomatic properties in the United States, Guaido’s U.S. envoy said on Monday, as the opposition presses its bid to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro. The envoy, Carlos Vecchio, said the opposition had gained control of two buildings belonging to Venezuela’s defense ministry in Washington and one consular building in New York. He added that the group expected to take control of Venezuela’s embassy in Washington 'in the days to come.' The image above shows the Venezuelan consulate in New York City on Tuesday The consulate was overtaken by supporters of Juan Guaido, the opposition leader who claims to be the country's real president An office in Venezuela's consulate sits empty in the image above taken on Wednesday Guaido, president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency in January, arguing that Maduro’s May 2018 re-election was illegitimate. He has been recognized as Venezuela’s rightful leader by most Western countries, including the United States. 'We are taking these steps in order to preserve the assets of the Venezuelans here in this country,' Vecchio said from one of the buildings, the office of Venezuela’s military attache to Washington, after removing a portrait of Maduro from the wall and replacing it with one of Guaido. U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters the United States was 'pleased to support these requests.' In Caracas, the Venezuelan government of President Nicolas Maduro denounced the 'forced and illegal occupation of some of its diplomatic headquarters' in the United States. The image above shows a room in the New York consulate A large poster of Venezuela's former president, Hugo Chavez, hangs in an empty reception area on the country's consulate in New York Another empty room in the consulate is seen in the above photo which was taken on Tuesday Carlos Vecchio (left), Juan Guaido's chief envoy to the United States, hangs a photo of the opposition leader at the office of Venezuela's military attache in Washington, D.C., on Monday. An aide is seen right taking down the photo of President Nicolas Maduro Guaido (left), president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency in January, arguing that Maduro’s (right) May 2018 re-election was illegitimate In a statement, Venezuela’s foreign ministry called on U.S. authorities to 'take the necessary measures to immediately reverse this forcible occupation' of its diplomatic offices. It said the transfer of possession violated international law on the protection of diplomatic properties. Maduro, who has branded Guaido a U.S. puppet seeking to oust him in a coup, broke off relations with Washington after it recognized Guaido, calling diplomatic and consular staff back to Caracas. Of 55 staff members, 12 decided to remain in the United States and support Guaido, Vecchio said on Monday. He added that his staff would work out of the attache building, which is in the upscale Kalorama neighborhood and has an assessed value of $2.2million, according to Washington property records. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility