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U.S. State Department Team Travels to Venezuela as Embassy Reopening Explored
CARACAS, VENEZUELA – A team from the U.S. State Department arrived in Venezuela on Friday, marking the first diplomatic visit since the removal of Nicolas Maduro from power. This visit signals a potential shift in U.S.-Venezuelan relations, with discussions underway regarding the possible reopening of the U.S. embassy in Caracas, which has been closed since 2019.
According to a U.S. official, diplomatic and security personnel from the Venezuela Affairs Unit, currently based in Colombia, alongside the acting U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, John McNamara, traveled to the Venezuelan capital. Their mission is to “conduct an initial assessment for a potential phased resumption of operations.”
The U.S. withdrew its diplomats and suspended embassy operations in Caracas in 2019 after the Maduro government severed diplomatic ties with the first Trump administration. The move followed the U.S.’s recognition of opposition figure Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim leader. Since then, the Venezuela Affairs Unit has operated from the U.S. embassy in Bogota.
A senior State Department official confirmed Monday that preparations are being made to allow for a reopening of the embassy, contingent on a presidential decision. While discussions regarding meetings between U.S. diplomats and Venezuelan interim political leadership are ongoing, such encounters are not anticipated during this initial assessment trip.
The Venezuelan foreign ministry, for its part, announced Friday the initiation of an “exploratory diplomatic process” with the U.S. This process aims at “re-establishing diplomatic missions in both countries” and addressing the consequences of what they described as the “aggression and kidnapping” of Maduro and his wife. They confirmed the U.S. delegation’s visit for “technical and logistical assessments” and indicated that a Venezuelan diplomatic delegation would also travel to the U.S. for corresponding duties.
Former diplomats have highlighted the challenges of rebuilding and ensuring accountability in Venezuela without a U.S. presence on the ground. Former President Donald Trump has expressed a desire for U.S. oil companies to resume operations in Venezuela and contribute to its reconstruction. He recently stated that the U.S. was “asked” to reopen the embassy but provided no further details.
During a briefing on Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed lawmakers that the State Department is exploring the feasibility of reopening the U.S. embassy. Officials will need to assess the building’s condition to determine its viability, according to a source familiar with the briefing.
Rubio indicated plans to send personnel in the coming days. Another source mentioned discussions about deploying a team of technical experts to evaluate the building’s state and identify necessary repairs before reopening.
While a full reopening of the embassy is expected to be a lengthy process, a small diplomatic presence could be re-established relatively quickly, noted one source. Reports suggest that some diplomats have already volunteered for assignments in Caracas.
A former senior U.S. official believes that the act of reopening the embassy “could be very fast.” However, they emphasized the critical need for the State Department to be “very confident that the security conditions will allow safety for US personnel.” The official stressed the importance of ensuring that U.S. personnel would not face a high probability of injury, kidnapping, or being taken hostage by the regime.