Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez appointed on July 13 the country's ambassador to the United States, Felix Plasencia, as the head of the newly merged Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, El Pais reported on July 14.

Rodriguez appointed Plasencia as Venezuela's representative to the United States in February, just over one month after the Jan. 3 U.S. capture of then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela and the United States resumed diplomatic ties and reopened their embassies in each other's countries in March after ties were broken in 2019. Plasencia served as Venezuela's foreign affairs minister between 2021 and 2022, and he has also served as ambassador to China, the United Kingdom and Colombia.