U.S. Believes It Is “Productive” to Have Diplomatic Presence in Venezuela Latin American Herald Tribune July 9, 2014
WASHINGTON – The U.S. government said on Wednesday that despite its differences with Venezuela it is “productive” to have a diplomatic presence in that country, after the recent announcement that charges d’affaires would be exchanged.
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said that “there are a range of reasons why we have a diplomatic presence in countries, even where we don’t agree on every issue.”
The U.S. government tapped Lee McClenny for the post of charge d’affaires and Caracas sent Maximilien Sanchez Arvalaiz to fill that post in its own embassy in Washington, one year after the two governments mutually ordered the expulsion of their predecessors.
Psaki said that the Venezuelan government had tried “repeatedly over the last couple of months to shift focus from its mistakes and Venezuela’s problems to the bilateral relationship.”
Nevertheless, she said that from the U.S. point of view it is “productive to have a presence where we can.”
McClenny and Sanchez Arvelaiz will be the highest-ranking representatives of the respective diplomatic legations, given that both countries withdrew their ambassadors in 2010.
Psaki downplayed the appointment of a new charge d’affaires and said that “Lee McClenny’s arrival is part of a routine personnel rotation.”
However, the move comes after Caracas expelled the previous charge d’affaires and two other U.S. officials, whom it accused of sabotage and collaborating to destabilize the country, and Washington then took reciprocal action.
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