The State Department is visiting Caracas on Friday as the Trump administration continues to assess what it will do with the country.
By Catholics for Catholics
A team from the U.S. State Department arrived in Venezuela on Friday for the first time since former President Nicolas Maduro was arrested and extracted by an elite Delta Force commando, with plans to reopen an American embassy in Caracas.
The Daily Wire reported that acting U.S. Ambassador to Colombia John McNamara traveled to Caracas with security personnel from the Venezuela Affairs Unit, which is also based in Colombia, “to conduct an initial assessment for a potential phased resumption of operations,” CNN reported.
Last weekend, after Special Forces captured Maduro and his wife and took them to the United States, where they are awaiting trial, President Donald Trump said that the United States would take command of Venezuela for the projected future. In 2019, the U.S. evacuated its Caracas embassy during Trump’s first administration, after Maduro ousted American diplomats.
In the aftermath of Maduro’s capture, the Venezuelan government has been cooperating with Washington’s request of releasing political prisoners, according to Trump. He added that he has “cancelled” his plans to carry out a “second wave of attacks.”
Still, Venezuela remains under the control of Maduro loyalists, who imposed a socialist dictatorship and repressed countless political opponents. Delcy Rodríguez, the Interim President, has allegedly supported Maduro, saying he is still the rightful leader of the country.
In addition, the Venezuelan dictatorship continues to suppress dissenters and deployed paramilitary members to the streets of Caracas to search for Venezuelans who supported the U.S. raid.
In an interview with the New York Times, Trump did not specify how long Washington will keep control of Venezuela. He suggested that the supervision of Caracas could take years.
“We will rebuild it in a very profitable way. We’re going to be using oil, and we’re going to be taking oil. We’re getting oil prices down, and we’re going to be giving money to Venezuela, which they desperately need,” Trump said.
