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US Announces Resumption of Operations at Caracas Embassy
(MENAFN) The US State Department announced Monday the formal resumption of operations at its embassy in Caracas, framing the development as a pivotal diplomatic reset with Venezuela after more than six years of closure.
"Today, we are formally resuming operations at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, marking a new chapter in our diplomatic presence in Venezuela," the department said in a statement.
Ambassador Laura F. Dogu touched down in Caracas in January, serving as chargé d'affaires to spearhead on-the-ground restoration efforts. Her team has been working to rehabilitate the embassy compound and lay the groundwork for the "full return of personnel" and the eventual reinstatement of consular services, the statement noted.
The Caracas embassy had been shuttered in March 2019, when the administration of then-President Donald Trump threw its weight behind opposition figure Juan Guaidó, recognizing him as Venezuela's interim president while rejecting Nicolás Maduro's 2018 reelection as fraudulent. In the intervening years, the US mission in neighboring Colombia assumed responsibility for Washington's diplomatic affairs in the country.
The reopening unfolds against a dramatic backdrop: Maduro is currently in US custody following his seizure during an overnight US military raid in Caracas in early January.
A federal judge ruled last week against dismissing narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges leveled against Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Both remain held in New York after entering not guilty pleas, with no trial date yet scheduled.
"Today, we are formally resuming operations at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, marking a new chapter in our diplomatic presence in Venezuela," the department said in a statement.
Ambassador Laura F. Dogu touched down in Caracas in January, serving as chargé d'affaires to spearhead on-the-ground restoration efforts. Her team has been working to rehabilitate the embassy compound and lay the groundwork for the "full return of personnel" and the eventual reinstatement of consular services, the statement noted.
The Caracas embassy had been shuttered in March 2019, when the administration of then-President Donald Trump threw its weight behind opposition figure Juan Guaidó, recognizing him as Venezuela's interim president while rejecting Nicolás Maduro's 2018 reelection as fraudulent. In the intervening years, the US mission in neighboring Colombia assumed responsibility for Washington's diplomatic affairs in the country.
The reopening unfolds against a dramatic backdrop: Maduro is currently in US custody following his seizure during an overnight US military raid in Caracas in early January.
A federal judge ruled last week against dismissing narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges leveled against Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Both remain held in New York after entering not guilty pleas, with no trial date yet scheduled.
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