US Reopens Caracas Embassy

The US Embassy in Caracas has formally reopened after the restoration of full diplomatic relations between the US and Venezuela following the Trump administration's ouster of President Nicolas Maduro in early January. The State Department announced Monday that it had resumed normal operations at the embassy—which had been in need of significant repair, including remediations from mold—after a seven-year closure that began during President Trump's first term. A small team of American diplomats, based in neighboring Colombia, has been working in Caracas for more than a month, but the embassy itself had not been reopened, the AP reports.

"The resumption of operations at US Embassy Caracas is a key milestone in implementing the president's three phase plan for Venezuela and will strengthen our ability to engage directly with Venezuela's interim government, civil society, and the private sector," the State Department said in a statement. It said the move marked "a new chapter in our diplomatic presence in Venezuela." There hasn't been a US ambassador in the country since 2010, per the Guardian. The US pulled all diplomats in 2019 for security reasons after Maduro broke off relations with the US for recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president, per Politico.