Diplomats and security officials from the Office of Venezuela Affairs, as well as acting U.S. Ambassador to Colombia John McNamara, traveled to Caracas “to conduct an initial assessment of a potential phased reopening,” he said.
The US is reportedly set to reopen its embassy in Caracas after Washington recalled its diplomats and suspended its embassy in the Venezuelan capital in 2019. Until recently, Venezuela Affairs worked with a team of American diplomats at the embassy in Bogota, Colombia.
A senior State Department official said earlier this week that the department was “preparing to reopen” the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela “if the President so decides.”
As the media interlocutor told the media, negotiations on meetings between American diplomats and the interim political leadership of Venezuela are ongoing, but they will not take place during this trip.
On January 9, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said it had begun a “preliminary diplomatic process” from the United States aimed at “restoring diplomatic missions in both countries.”
Context
On the night of January 3, the United States conducted a special operation in Caracas, during which Maduro and his wife Celia Flores were detained and taken out of Venezuela. According to CBS, they were captured by the elite special forces unit of the US Army, Delta. Maduro and Flores appeared in court in New York.
According to the Venezuelan Ministry of Internal Affairs, 100 people died due to the US special operation. Bild wrote that Trump could have a secret deal with Maduro’s entourage.
Trump at a briefing on January 3 said that the United States will lead Venezuela until the government there changes. On January 4, Bloomberg, citing a source, wrote that US Secretary of State and Acting National Security Advisor Marco Rubio will play a leading role in governing Venezuela.
On January 5, Politico reported that the White House is demanding at least three things from Delcy Rodriguez (the acting president of Venezuela): getting tough on drug trafficking, expelling Iranian, Cuban and other operatives from countries or networks hostile to Washington, and stopping oil sales to US adversaries.
In an interview published on January 4, Rubio said that the United States will not allow Venezuela to become a hub for Iran, Russia and China.
On January 9, Trump admitted that the United States was planning a “second wave” of special operations in Venezuela, but the people there “did the smart thing.”
