Washington, D.C ? Responding to Venezuela’s expulsion of a U.S. naval officer from Caracas, the State Department on Friday declared a senior Venezuelan diplomat persona non grata and gave her 72 hours to leave the United States.

Spokesman Sean McCormack said Jeny Figueredo Frias, the embassy chief of staff, has been ordered to leave.

On Thursday, President Hugo Chavez said Venezuela was expelling U.S. naval attache John Correa for allegedly passing secret information from Venezuelan military officers to the Pentagon.

The tit-for-tat expulsions marked another chapter in the steady decay of U.S.-Venezuelan relations under Chavez, who has warned repeatedly that Washington has plans to invade Venezuela.