Though the US has endorsed the government of Juan Guiado as the rightful
rulers of Venezuela, there is little in the way of practical
government. Rather, the US policy is mostly to no longer recognize
President Maduro’s government.
With Venezuela’s embassy in the US more or less closed, the Guaido
government is trying to step in and establish its own diplomatic
relations. They already have a diplomat working on things, with Carlos Vecchio acting as a charge d’affaires for them.
Vecchio has lived in the US in exile since 2014, and in the past two
weeks has been a regular around the D.C. area pushing Guiado’s agenda.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) says it has been valuable for Guaido to have a
direct liaison within the US.
Vecchio is said to be popular across the Venezuelan opposition, and in
that regard officials say he is well-suited for this position. That
said, so long as this is a diplomat representing an opposition group,
his ability to be a major diplomatic player will be limited to the
administration’s decision to favor the opposition.
Venezuela’s Would-Be Government Has Top Diplomat in US
Charge d'affaires has lived in exile in US since 2014
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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