The United States Senate has confirmed the appointment of diplomat James Story as the new ambassador to Venezuela, a position that remained vacant since 2010, when Washington and Caracas lowered the level of their bilateral relations by order of the then presidents, Barack Obama and Hugo Chávez. .
The two countries broke diplomatic relations permanently in 2019, after the United States recognized Juan Guaidó as the legitimate president of Venezuela. The Donald Trump Administration moved its staff from Caracas to Bogotá, from where Story has served as charge d’affaires – the highest rank in the absence of an ambassador.
Trump, however, proposed in May 2020 to appoint Story as ambassador, something that was finally confirmed this Wednesday in the US Senate with a vote, as recorded in congressional records. The Embassy, in any case, will continue to operate from Colombia.
Guaidó’s representative in the United States, Carlos Vecchio, has applauded the appointment. “Congratulations to a great friend from Venezuela. Let’s continue in this fight together,” he said on his Twitter account.
Trump has hardened the economic and political pressure on the Government of Nicolás Maduro, for whom he has even offered a millionaire reward. However, the rise of Story already comes with Joe Biden as president-elect of the United States, thus waiting to see what policies the Democratic leader adopts once he disembarks in the White House on January 20, 2021.
