Washington has its first ambassador to Venezuela in a decade despite the US having no diplomats at its Caracas embassy amid a breakdown in relations.
James Story’s nomination as ambassador to Venezuela was confirmed on Wednesday by a US Senate voice vote. The South Carolina native takes the job that he will carry out from the capital of neighbouring Colombia as Venezuela endures a historic economic and political crisis.
Story, 50, will likely be at the centre of helping guide US policy on Venezuela during the transition of President-elect Joe Biden. Relations have had a long, rocky past that include President Donald Trump’s administration winning an indictment against Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro as an alleged narcoterrorist.
Biden’s win has sparked debate among those who back Trump’s hard-line approach against Maduro and others who say it is time for a new approach. The critics say heavy sanctions have failed to remove Maduro from power while making life harder on millions of Venezuelans.
The US and Venezuela haven’t exchanged ambassadors since 2010, when relations first started to fray under the late President Hugo Chávez. The two nations totally broke diplomatic ties last year, each withdrawing its diplomats shortly after Washington backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s legitimate leader.
The US leads a coalition of dozens of nations that rejected Maduro following his election in 2018 to a second term in a vote widely considered fraudulent because the most popular opposition leaders were banned from running.
The US has since heavily sanctioned Maduro, his inner circle and the state-run oil firm, attempting to isolate them. The Trump administration offered a $15 million bounty for Maduro’s arrest after a US court indicted him on drug charges.