The new US charge d’affaires has landed in Caracas to assess reopening the embassy, marking a major step in restoring relations after the ouster of former president Nicolas Maduro.
CARACAS: The new head of the US diplomatic mission to Venezuela arrived in the country on Saturday as relations gradually resume.
Laura Dogu, a former ambassador to Nicaragua and Honduras, landed at the airport serving Caracas around 3:00 pm local time.
A diplomatic source confirmed her arrival to AFP on condition of anonymity.
Dogu was named charge d’affaires last week.
This position leads a diplomatic mission in the absence of a full ambassador.
The United States has already sent a mission to assess the embassy, which has been largely unoccupied for the past six years.
It was shuttered in 2019 after Washington declared Nicolas Maduro illegitimate following a flawed election.
US forces attacked Venezuela on January 3, capturing Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
They were taken to New York for trial on US-issued drug trafficking charges.
President Donald Trump says he is now running Venezuela.
He has allowed Maduro’s vice president Delcy Rodriguez to be interim leader so long as she does what he wants.
A key US demand is access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
The country has more proven reserves than any other on Earth.
Since 2019, the US embassy has been largely deserted other than a few local employees.
Dogu’s predecessor, John McNamara, was based in neighbouring Colombia.
McNamara travelled to Caracas days after Maduro’s ouster.
The purpose was to assess “a potential phased resumption of operations” at the embassy.
Trump has said he was working “really well” with Rodriguez.
A US official has said Rodriguez would visit the United States soon.
But Trump has also warned Rodriguez of a fate possibly worse than Maduro’s.
This warning applies if she fails to heed US demands on policy reforms and access to oil.
