Credit:  State Department / United States Department of State  official seal.

By Gary Raynaldo       DIPLOMATIC TIMES

The U.S. State Department on Wednesday opened a Venezuela diplomatic office of sorts in Colombia capital city Bogota to work with the opposition government of “interim president” Juan Guaidó.  Called the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), it will be located at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota under the leadership of Charge d’Affaires James Story, according to the State Department.  In January 2019, Guaidó proclaimed himself as Venezuela president in a bid to oust President Nicholas Maduro.  The U.S. immediately threw its support behind Guaidó, leading many to label the action as an American-backed coup d’état against Maduro.

“The United States stands with interim President Juan Guaido, the National Assembly, and the people of Venezuela as they seek to regain their democracy.”

-Secretary of State Michael Pompeo statement 

Pompeo said VAU was established with bipartisan support from the U.S. Congress.  “The VAU is continuing the U.S. mission to the legitimate Government of Venezuela and to the Venezuelan people.  The VAU will continue to work for the restoration of democracy and the constitutional order in that country, and the security and well-being of the Venezuelan people.”

Credit: ve.usembassy.gov /     James Story  was  Chargé d’ Affaires, a.i. at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela.  American diplomats, including Story,  withdrew  from the Caracas  Embassy in March amid the political crisis in the country.  Story will now head up the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU)  located at U.S. Embassy in Bogota. 

James Story arrived in Caracas in July 2018 from Rio de Janeiro where he served as Consul General.  His previous assignments include Office Director of the INL for the Western Hemisphere, Director of INL Office in Bogota, Colombia, Senior Civilian Representative to in Southeastern Afghanistan, and Political-Economic Chief and Deputy Principal Officer in São Paulo, Brazil.

The US Trump administration earlier this month imposed sweeping economic sanctions against the Venezuela government, imposing a total financial embargo on the Latin American nation in a bid to choke the life out of the regime of Nicholas Maduro.   President Trump  signed an Executive Order blocking all property and interests in property of the Government of Venezuela that are in the United States.   Venezuela now faces many of the tough US restrictions on Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria. The US sanctions come  three months after “interim” Venezuela president Juan Guaidó’s  failed coup attempt against Maduro.

Venezuela UN Ambassador Accuses US of Sabotaging Peace Talks and Pushing for War

Credit: Gary Raynaldo /   Diplomatic Times  / Samuel Moncada, Permanent Representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United Nations at press conference at UN world headquarters Jul. 12, 2019

Venezuela’s Ambassador to the United Nations Samuel Moncada has accused the US of seeking to sabotage any political dialogue seeking a peaceful resolution to the ongoing crisis in the Latin American nation.   Ambassador Moncada also accused the Trump Administration of attempting to fabricate a military invasion with his country by provocations.  Moncado requested the United Nations to condemn “US Military Threats”  To Venezuela.  The Venezuela ambassador also accused the Trump administration of sending military assets into the country’s territorial waters as close as 14 nautical miles of the capital Caracas.  “The united states now is a threat to international peace. And we are asking now Security Council and Secretary General to take action to condemn the threat to peace, the (threat of) use of military force against Venezuela publicly. We are asking him to intervene to see if he can deescalate the conflict. Because the US is escalating the conflict,” ambassador Moncado stated at  a recent press conference at UN world headquarters in New York.