US embassy resumes operations in Venezuela after seven years

The US embassy in Venezuela resumed operations Monday after being closed for seven years, the State Department announced, following Washington’s ouster of leftist president Nicolas Maduro.

“Today, we are formally resuming operations at the US embassy in Caracas, marking a new chapter in our diplomatic presence in Venezuela,” the State Department said in a statement.

The normal functioning of the embassy “will strengthen our ability to engage directly with Venezuela’s interim government, civil society and the private sector,” it said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed progress in Venezuela, saying it is beginning to see “the kind of stability that brings businesses back.”

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Rubio credited the interim authorities but called for an eventual transition to democracy, without setting a timeline.

“You want to see a full transition because in order for Venezuela to fulfill its economic potential, it has to have a stable, democratic government,” he told the Qatar-based network.

The United States shuttered its embassy in Caracas in March 2019 shortly after Washington along with a number of Western and Latin American allies declared Maduro to be illegitimate following an election marred by widespread irregularities.

President Donald Trump in January ordered a deadly raid in which US forces snatched Maduro and took him to New York to face charges of drug trafficking, which he denies.

The United States since then has been working with interim president Delcy Rodriguez, who was Maduro’s vice president.

Despite her background, Trump has hailed the relationship with Rodriguez on his key priorities including assisting US oil companies, enforcing cooperation by threatening her with violence if she does not comply.

Since 2019, the United States had run diplomatic operations for Venezuela out of neighboring Colombia.

Laura Dogu, a veteran US diplomat, arrived in Caracas in January to head the embassy, where the US flag was raised again on March 14.