BEIJING -- The economic and commercial affairs office under the Chinese embassy in Venezuela was robbed of over 14,000 U.S. dollars on Saturday, a spokesperson with the Chinese Foreign Ministry has confirmed.

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At 10 a.m. local time, eight armed men, without masks, broke into the office and threatened the Chinese diplomatic staff with guns. They ordered the staff to hand over the key to the office safe before binding their arms and legs with ties and telephone wires.

Twenty minutes after they had broken in, the men made off with 10,000 U.S. dollars in cash and 4,000 U.S. dollars of local currency. No one was injured in the incident.

The embassy reported the incident to the local Venezuelan authorities immediately and informed the Venezuelan ministries of foreign and domestic affairs.

Chinese public security officials on Monday met with Venezuelan military officers and asked the police to step up their investigations into the case.

The Chinese side also called for stronger measures to ensure the security of Chinese citizens, diplomats, organizations and companies in Venezuela.