The United States formally resumed operations at its embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, on Monday, ending a seven‑year closure dating back to 2019, the US State Department announced. The move marks a significant step in restoring full diplomatic relations between Washington and Caracas.
“Today, we are formally resuming operations at the US embassy in Caracas, marking a new chapter in our diplomatic presence in Venezuela,” the department said in a statement. It added that a functioning embassy will strengthen Washington’s ability to engage directly with Venezuela’s interim government, civil society and the private sector.
The embassy had been closed and diplomatic relations severed in March 2019 amid deep tensions after President Donald Trump and several allied governments rejected President Nicolás Maduro’s 2018 re‑election as fraudulent.
In the interim, US diplomatic functions for Venezuela were run out of the United States Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia. Chargé d’affaires Laura Dogu arrived in Caracas earlier this year to lead the reopening effort, and the American flag was raised again at the mission in March as restoration work was underway ahead of full operations.
The reopening follows the normalization of ties between the US government and Venezuela’s interim leadership after events earlier this year that dramatically reshaped the political landscape in Caracas, culminating in the restoration of formal diplomatic ties.
