“My team and I are ready to get to work,” Laura Dogu said upon arriving in the Caribbean nation. The US embassy has been closed since 2019.
The new chargé d'affaires of the US Office of External Affairs for Venezuela, Laura Dogu, arrived in Venezuela this Saturday to reopen her country's diplomatic mission following the announcement of the general amnesty project issued on Friday by Delcy Rodríguez.
“I have just arrived in Venezuela. My team and I are ready to get to work,” the diplomat said on social media, in a message accompanied by two photos showing her arrival in the Caribbean country.
Dogu will assume her duties as chargé d'affaires of the Venezuela Affairs Unit and will work with representatives from the public and private sectors and civil society to implement a three-phase plan.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defined this plan for Venezuela with an initial stabilization phase, followed by a recovery phase, and finally, a democratic transition. The reopening of the diplomatic mission coincides with the first month since the capture of former dictator Nicolás Maduro by US forces, marking a new stage in bilateral relations.
The Republican president's administration confirmed this Friday that “all” its citizens detained in Venezuela had been released, as a result of a release process agreed upon with the interim presidency. High-ranking US diplomats, including John McNamara—Laura F. Dogu's predecessor—traveled to Caracas on January 9 to assess the reopening of the embassy, which has been closed since 2019.
This Friday, Rodríguez announced the presentation of a General Amnesty Law that will cover cases of political prisoners from 1999 to the present. The situation of political prisoners remains one of the most sensitive issues in Venezuela, with estimates from international human rights organizations calculating that more than 1,000 people are detained in the country's prisons for political reasons. The appointment of Laura Dogu as Chargé d'Affaires of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Caracas comes at a crucial time, with Delcy Rodríguez's administration under international scrutiny and amidst a political reconfiguration following Maduro's capture.
Dogu is a career U.S. Foreign Service officer with extensive experience in the region and in international security issues. She served as ambassador to Honduras and Nicaragua, and also worked as a foreign policy advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine. She has held key positions at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico and in FBI hostage recovery operations.
The diplomat, who is fluent in Spanish, Turkish, and Arabic, has received awards such as the Barbara M. Watson Award for Consular Excellence and two Presidential Meritorious Service Awards. She assumed the position replacing John McNamara, who will continue to head the U.S. representation in Colombia.
Dogu's arrival coincides with the Venezuelan regime's attempts to demonstrate greater openness towards the United States, amid negotiations for energy agreements and international demands for the release of political prisoners.
(With information from EFE and AFP)
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