Venezuela Envoy to Visit U.S. for First Official Trip in Years

Venezuelan Envoy to Make First Washington Trip in Years Amid ThawFélix Plasencia, an envoy of the interim government, will travel to the United States on the day the opposition leader María Corina Machado is to meet President Trump.Félix Plasencia, then Venezuela’s foreign minister, in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2022.Credit...Cristian Hernandez/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesJan. 14, 2026, 7:49 a.m. ETA Venezuelan government envoy planned to travel on Thursday to Washington to meet U.S. officials and take initial steps toward reopening the Venezuelan embassy there, according to Venezuelans and Americans familiar with the matter.The emissary, Félix Plasencia, would be the first representative of the country’s ruling political movement, known as chavismo, to visit the American capital in an official capacity in years. His trip highlights the speed of the thaw in the U.S.-Venezuela relations following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. Special Forces on Jan. 3.Mr. Plasencia is expected to arrive on the same day that President Trump is scheduled to meet the leader of Venezuelan opposition, María Corina Machado, in Washington, adding to the rivalry between Venezuela’s competing political camps for the U.S. president’s graces.A career Venezuelan diplomat, Mr. Plasencia serves as Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. He is a close ally and friend of the interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, whose ascent Mr. Trump blessed after Mr. Maduro’s downfall.Ms. Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for her campaign to restore democracy in Venezuela, has argued that Ms. Rodríguez’s claim to power is illegitimate. Ms. Machado’s movement has provided evidence that Mr. Maduro committed electoral fraud to hold on to power after Venezuela’s most recent presidential vote, held in 2024.It was unclear which U.S. officials would receive Mr. Plasencia, a Western-educated diplomat who began his foreign service career before chavismo took power more than two decades ago. Mr. Plasencia, 53, declined to comment. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bloomberg News reported earlier on his trip to Washington.The official reason for Mr. Plasencia’s trip is to begin the process of reopening the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, the people familiar with his visit said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. American diplomats made a similar visit last week to the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.During his first term, Mr. Trump broke off diplomatic relations with Mr. Maduro’s government, leading to the closure of the countries’ respective embassies.The Venezuelan embassy in Washington was for a time occupied by representatives of the opposition leader Juan Guaidó, whom Mr. Trump had recognized as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. The U.S. has since quietly dropped that endorsement and the embassy building is believed to be currently empty, the people familiar with Mr. Plasencia’s trip said.On Friday, a U.S. delegation led by John T. McNamara, the chargé d’affaires for Venezuela who is based in neighboring Colombia, visited Caracas to “conduct an initial assessment for a potential phased resumption of operations,” according to a State Department spokeswoman.Mr. McNamara, a Trump loyalist who has had a tense relationship with Mr. Maduro’s government, did not meet senior Venezuelan officials during the trip, the people said.Edward Wong contributed reporting from Washington.Anatoly Kurmanaev covers Venezuela and its interim government.SKIP