Top US diplomat in Venezuela leaves post after arriving in January

BOGOTÁ, Colombia - The top U.S. diplomat in Venezuela announced Wednesday that she was leaving her post just months after arriving, a shake-up that comes as the Trump administration presses ahead with efforts to wield control over Venezuela’s government.

Laura Dogu, who arrived in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, in late January and reopened the U.S. Embassy, said in a statement that she would be replaced by John Barrett, the current top U.S. diplomat in Guatemala.

This leadership change raises questions about the Trump administration’s priorities in Venezuela following its capture and forced extraction in January of the country’s former leader, Nicolás Maduro.

After the U.S. military intervention, President Donald Trump said the United States would effectively “run” Venezuela and its oil industry, turning a country that for decades had been an adversary into something resembling a vassal state.

On the ground in Venezuela, Dogu was the face of these efforts. She gained a celebrity status in the country in public appearances alongside visiting U.S. company executives and Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s vice president, who took over as president.

It was not immediately clear why Dogu, a veteran U.S. diplomat who previously served as ambassador in Honduras and Nicaragua, is leaving her post. Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Barrett, the new U.S. envoy to Venezuela, had just arrived as the top diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala in January. He previously held diplomatic posts in Panama, Peru and Brazil.

The restructuring at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas comes as the Trump administration has shifted its attention from Latin America in recent weeks to prioritize its war with Iran.

Dogu, in her statement, said her assignment in Caracas was temporary and that she was returning to her previous position as the foreign policy adviser to Gen. Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Caine, the U.S. military’s highest-ranking and most visible officer, has recently struggled to justify Trump’s threats to blow up Iran’s power infrastructure, oil wells and desalination plants, actions which could constitute war crimes.

In Venezuela, concerns have also emerged over the slow pace of reform under Rodríguez. She has presented a conciliatory stance toward the United States, contrasting sharply with her predecessor, Maduro.

But Rodríguez’s government has not brought about significant political or economic changes in Venezuela. Legislators approved overhauls in the oil and mining sectors, but big U.S. investment deals have yet to materialize.

Concerns over political stability and Venezuela’s hyperpartisan judicial system are shaping the hesitance among potential investors. The state-run oil industry remains in shambles, despite Venezuela having colossal oil reserves.

Rodríguez has also overseen a minor political thaw, releasing hundreds of political prisoners and tolerating small protests.

But her government remains authoritarian, including in its top ranks Diosdado Cabello, the interior minister who oversees Venezuela’s repression apparatus. The U.S. government has placed a bounty of up to $25 million for Cabello’s capture.

Despite the Trump administration’s claims that Venezuela is now an ally, U.S. citizens are still prohibited from visiting Venezuela without a visa, which are extremely difficult to obtain.

Rodríguez has also refused to set a definitive date for holding democratic elections, and her government has vowed to arrest Maria Corina Machado, a leader of Venezuela’s opposition, if she returns to the country.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Copyright 2026 The New York Times Company

This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 4:39 PM.