U.S. and Venezuela begin exploratory steps to restore embassies

Less than a week after the United States snatched its president under cover of night, Venezuela said it was exploring restoring diplomatic ties and sending a delegation to Washington to check on its long-shuttered embassy, according to a statement from interim president Delcy Rodríguez.

Ms. Rodríguez said the two governments had decided to "initiate an exploratory diplomatic process" aimed at re-establishing diplomatic missions in both countries. On Friday, U.S. diplomats visited Caracas to assess a "potential" resumption of embassy operations for the first time in nearly seven years, a State Department spokeswoman confirmed.

The visitors were diplomats and security staff from the Venezuela Affairs Unit of the U.S. Embassy in Colombia, including chargé d’affaires John T. McNamara, who had arrived to "conduct an initial assessment for a potential phased resumption of operations," the spokeswoman said, and flight-tracking data showed two U.S.-registered planes traveled to Venezuela this week with stops in Curaçao.

The announcements were described as tentative first steps and experts noted the relationship was changing daily. Ms. Rodríguez’s statement began by denouncing the "kidnapping" of Mr.

Key Topics

World, Venezuela, Caracas, Delcy Rodríguez, John T. Mcnamara, Nicolás Maduro