Related videos:
Mike Hammer, chargé d'affaires at the United States Embassy in Cuba, publicly praised his counterpart Laura Dogu, who held the same position in Venezuela, during their meeting at the Conference of Chiefs of Mission of the Southern Command held in Doral, Florida this Saturday.
"How wonderful to be able to see my good friend, Ambassador Laura Dogu, at the SouthCOM Chief of Mission conference. What great work she did in Venezuela!" wrote Hammer from the official account of the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, accompanying the message with a photograph taken at the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) facilities.
The meeting took place during the 2026 Conference of Chiefs of Mission, held from May 5 to 7 under the motto "Peace through Strength," with the participation of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and General Francis L. Donovan, commander of USSOUTHCOM.
Dogu was appointed on January 22, 2026, by President Donald Trump as the acting charge d'affaires in Venezuela, in the context of the restoration of diplomatic relations following the fall of Nicolás Maduro.
He arrived in Caracas on January 31 to reopen the U.S. diplomatic mission, which had been closed since 2019, and in less than three months, he successfully formalized the reopening of the embassy on March 30, 2026.
During his tenure, Dogu met with Delcy Rodríguez and Jorge Rodríguez at the Miraflores Palace to present Trump and Rubio's three-phase plan, aimed at stabilization, economic recovery, and democratic transition in Venezuela.
Dogu announced the end of her temporary assignment on April 15, returning to her position as foreign policy advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces.
She was replaced by John Barrett, who arrived in Venezuela on April 23 to continue the implementation of the three-phase plan and met with Delcy Rodríguez days later.
Hammer, at the forefront of the mission in Cuba since October 2023, also met during the conference with Admiral Adam Chamie, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard's Southeast District, as reported by the embassy itself.
The SOUTHCOM conference focused on advancing the objectives of the U.S. National Security Strategy in the Western Hemisphere, emphasizing the fight against narco-terrorism and preventing the presence of adversaries in the region, with Cuba as a prominent topic.
Hammer's public praise of Dogu, published two days after the conference concluded, reflects the internal recognition of a diplomatic management that, in just two and a half months, managed to reestablish Washington's formal presence in Caracas after seven years of absence.
Filed under: