Overview
- Rodríguez announced the merger and named career diplomat Félix Plasencia to head the new Ministry of Relations and Commerce Exterior on Tuesday, shifting responsibilities for foreign policy and trade into one office.
- She appointed economist Johann Álvarez Márquez as Venezuela’s chargé d’affaires in Washington to take over day-to-day representation there and to advance a new stage of dialogue with U.S. officials.
- The reshuffle moved Yván Gil from the foreign ministry to Science and Technology and is the seventh cabinet change Rodríguez has made since the late‑June earthquakes as the government reorganizes emergency, economic and infrastructure teams.
- The personnel changes follow a wider recalibration in Caracas after the January U.S. operation that removed Nicolás Maduro, a temporary three‑month suspension of some U.S. sanctions announced by President Trump, and steps earlier this year to reopen diplomatic channels and ease commercial rules.
- The government says the reorganization will speed reconstruction funding and trade ties, while critics point to slow relief after the earthquakes — official tallies cite about 4,561 dead and roughly 18,000 homeless — raising questions about the interim administration’s legitimacy and how fast foreign economic support will reach survivors.