WASHINGTON – The Trump administration has informed Congress of its initial steps toward potentially reopening the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela. This move comes as part of efforts to restore diplomatic ties with the South American nation following the U.S. military operation that led to the ousting of then-President Nicolás Maduro.

The State Department, in a communication to legislators dated Monday and obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday, revealed plans to deploy a temporary team of staffers to Venezuela. These staffers are set to perform select diplomatic activities, marking the first tentative steps toward re-establishing a U.S. presence in the country.

These personnel will be stationed in a temporary facility, as the existing embassy site, closed since March 2019 when diplomatic relations were cut during President Donald Trump’s first term, undergoes necessary updates to meet operational standards.

The State Department detailed its intentions in identical letters sent to 10 committees in both the House and the Senate, outlining a phased strategy for possibly resuming operations at the Embassy in Caracas. “We are writing to notify the committee of the Department of State’s intent to implement a phased approach to potentially resume Embassy Caracas operations,” the letters stated.

In the aftermath of the military action that unseated Maduro on January 1, a small contingent from the Venezuela Affairs Unit, based at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, was dispatched to Caracas. Their mission was to conduct an initial assessment and evaluate the feasibility of reopening the embassy.

Last week, the department named a Bogota-based career U.S. diplomat to serve as the charge d’affaires for Venezuela. In its notification, the department said the first phase would be the expanded deployment of temporary staff to Caracas.

“To support increased temporary duty personnel and the potential resumption of embassy operations, the Department of State may also need to open an interim or temporary facility in Caracas, Venezuela, to accommodate temporary duty personnel or operations while the existing facilities are brought to serviceable condition,” it said.

These diplomats would perform limited “select duties,” including security and management in the first phase, but gradually expand their work “to include consular, political, economic, management, security, and public diplomacy.” In addition, the Venezuela Affairs Unit now located in Bogota would move to Caracas.