US says it's taking first steps to possibly reopen embassy in Venezuela after Maduro's ouster

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has notified Congress that it is taking the first steps to possibly reopen the shuttered U.S. Embassy in Venezuela as it explores restoring relations with the South American country following the U.S. military raid that ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro.

In a notice to lawmakers dated Monday and obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday, the State Department said it was sending in a regular contingent of temporary staffers to conduct “select” diplomatic functions.

It said the staffers would live and work in a temporary facility while the existing embassy compound is brought up to standard. It was shuttered in March 2019 when the U.S. and Venezuela severed diplomatic ties during President Donald Trump's first term.

“We are writing to notify the committee of the Department of State’s intent to implement a phased approach to potentially resume Embassy Caracas operations,” the department said in separate but identical letters to 10 House and Senate committees.

Shortly after the military operation that deposed Maduro on Jan. 1, a small team from the Venezuela Affairs Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, traveled to Caracas to do an initial survey and appraise the prospects for re-opening the embassy.

Last week, the department named a Bogota-based career U.S. diplomat to serve as the charge d’affaires for Venezuela. In its notification, the department said the first phase would be the expanded deployment of temporary staff to Caracas.

“To support increased temporary duty personnel and the potential resumption of embassy operations, the Department of State may also need to open an interim or temporary facility in Caracas, Venezuela, to accommodate temporary duty personnel or operations while the existing facilities are brought to serviceable condition,” it said.

These diplomats would perform limited “select duties,” including security and management in the first phase, but gradually expand their work “to include consular, political, economic, management, security, and public diplomacy.” In addition, the Venezuela Affairs Unit now located in Bogota would move to Caracas.