US making preparations to reopen embassy in Venezuela: Official

WASHINGTON

The Trump administration is preparing for the reopening of the US embassy in Caracas, a senior State Department official told Anadolu on Monday.

“As President Trump said, we are making preparations to allow for a reopening should the President make that decision,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Planning is still at a preliminary stage, and no final decision has been made.

Asked if the US is going to reopen its embassy in Caracas, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday: “We’re thinking about it.”

The embassy in Venezuela was closed in 2019 after Trump recognized opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido as president, rejecting Nicolas Maduro’s 2018 reelection as illegitimate.

Since then, US responsibilities in Venezuela have been handled by the embassy in neighboring Colombia.

The development comes after a US overnight military operation seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend in Caracas, leading to his transfer to New York where he and his wife, Cilia Flores, pled not guilty Monday to gun and drug trafficking charges.