State Dept sends delegation to Venezuela to help with diplomatic relations following Maduro arrest

The State Department confirmed Friday that it has sent a delegation to Venezuela to help restore diplomatic relations with the Latin American country in the aftermath of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s arrest.The delegation comes as the Trump administration considers reopening its embassy in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, which has been closed since President Donald Trump’s first term in 2019, according to CNN.
The team consists of U.S. diplomatic and security personnel from the Venezuela Affairs Unit, which is based in Colombia. The team was led by acting Ambassador to Colombia John McNamara and the delegation “conducted an initial assessment for a potential phased resumption of operations.”
Venezuela told the outlet that it will be sending its own team of diplomats to the United States in response, though did not give a timeline of when the visit would take place.
The U.S. delegation is not expected to meet the Venezuelan interim political leadership during Friday’s trip, but there are ongoing discussions about setting up a meeting in the future.
The trip comes after the U.S. arrested Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, over the weekend, and took them to New York City to face federal conspiracy, drugs and weapons charges. They have pleaded not guilty.
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.

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