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John Barrett, the new Charge d'Affaires at the United States Embassy in Caracas, arrived this Thursday in Venezuela with the mission of advancing the three-phase plan designed by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the transition of the South American country.
"I am on Venezuelan soil to continue implementing the three-phase plan of @POTUS and @SecRubio, and to deliver results for the people of our countries. It is an honor to represent the United States at this historic moment in our relations with Venezuela," Barrett wrote on the official account of the Embassy on X, signing the message with his initials "JB."
Barrett replaces Laura Dogu, who announced her departure on April 15 to resume her role as Foreign Policy Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces.
The diplomat arrives with over two decades of experience in Latin America, proficiency in Spanish and Portuguese, and a track record that includes managing humanitarian projects worth more than 50 million dollars. He was serving as the Chargé d'Affaires in Guatemala since January 2026.
The three-phase plan that Barrett will need to implement was announced by Rubio following the capture of Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026, in Fuerte Tiuna, Caracas, and his subsequent transfer to a federal court in New York on charges of narco-terrorism.
Phase 1 includes the stabilization of the country through the control and sale of up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude under U.S. supervision, with the funds deposited in international bank accounts for the benefit of the Venezuelan people.
Phase 2 aims at economic recovery, with access for Western companies to the oil sector, reform of the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), and a proposed investment of 100 billion dollars announced by Trump in infrastructure.
Phase 3, the most delicate stage, aims for a democratic transition with supervised free elections before the end of 2026.
Barrett arrives at a time of intense diplomatic activity. Just two days before his arrival, on April 21, negotiations took place in Chicago between teams from Rubio and María Corina Machado —Nobel Peace Prize winner 2025— to define the dates and key players of the transition, although Machado's official spokesperson denied that there was a formal negotiation process in those terms.
On April 19, Machado revealed in an interview with the EFE agency in Madrid that she maintains "communication" with individuals from the Venezuelan regime for a "peaceful transition process."
Diplomatic normalization between Washington and Caracas has progressed rapidly since Maduro's fall: Laura Dogu arrived in Caracas on January 31, the embassy resumed official operations on March 30 after seven years of closure, and on Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum visited the country on March 4 to promote the transition plan.
Since Maduro's capture, Delcy Rodríguez has assumed the role of acting president of Venezuela on January 5, 2026, by appointment of the Supreme Court of Justice, and it is with her government that Washington has navigated the normalization of relations.
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