Caracas (EFE).- The ambassador Laura Dogu arrived on Saturday to reopen the United States diplomatic mission in Venezuela, which had been closed for seven years due to the rupture of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The US Embassy in Venezuela shared two photographs on X of Dogu descending from the plane at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, which serves the Venezuelan capital.
The photos were accompanied by a message from Dogu: “I just arrived in Venezuela. My team and I are ready to work.”
She will serve as chargé d’affaires of the Venezuela Affairs Unit and will collaborate with individuals from the public and private sectors, as well as civil society, to advance a three-phase plan devised by the US government.
The plan, established by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is marked by three stages: stabilization, recovery, and finally, democratic transition.
As the first month approaches since former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s capture by the US, relations with the Caribbean country are entering a new phase with the reopening of the American diplomatic mission.
On Jan. 22, the Donald Trump administration appointed Dogu as chargé d’affaires of the Venezuela Affairs Unit, which had its headquarters in Colombia until now.
The unit is the State Department office responsible for managing relations with Venezuela since the suspension of embassy operations in Caracas in 2019.
Dogu succeeds John McNamara, who has served as chargé d’affaires since Feb. 2020. McNamara traveled to the Venezuelan capital in early January to discuss the possible resumption of embassy operations with authorities.
According to the State Department, in addition to being chargé d’affaires of the Venezuela Affairs Unit, Dogu is a foreign policy advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine.
Venezuela and the US severed diplomatic ties in 2019 after the Trump administration recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the interim president of Venezuela.
In response, the Maduro government expelled James Story, the chargé d’affaires in Caracas, and the rest of the American diplomatic corps.
Since then, Washington has managed matters related to Venezuela from its External Office for Venezuela, located in the US embassy in Bogotá.
On Jan. 9, the acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez, announced the start of a “diplomatic exploratory process” with the US aimed at reestablishing diplomatic missions in both countries.
The announcement was also made to address the consequences of what the government considers the “kidnapping” of former President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were captured on Jan. 3 in a US military operation on Venezuelan soil.EFE
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