Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, has merged the ministries of foreign affairs and foreign trade into a single entity and appointed a new head of the country’s diplomatic mission in Washington. The restructuring, announced on 14 July, places Johann Álvarez Márquez — until now the foreign trade minister — as chargé d’affaires in the United States, while the previous envoy, Félix Plasencia, becomes foreign minister. Yván Gil, who had held the foreign affairs portfolio since 2023, was moved to the science and technology ministry.

According to a statement released on Telegram, Rodríguez said Álvarez Márquez is tasked with “representing the interests of our country and advancing this new stage of dialogue, cooperation and mutual respect.” The appointment consolidates a pattern in which economic and commercial portfolios are being fused with traditional diplomacy. Viewed from Caracas, the move is presented as a streamlining of the state’s capacity to manage a relationship with Washington that was formally re-established in March, after a rupture dating to 2019.

Analysts in Washington interpret the merger as a reflection of Venezuela’s altered position following the US military operation that captured former president Nicolás Maduro in January and installed Rodríguez as interim leader. Evan Ellis, a Latin America scholar formerly with the US State Department, told Bloomberg that the need for a conventional foreign ministry has “significantly diminished” and that “the question of trade in Venezuelan oil and minerals appears to have merged with its foreign policy.” The new chargé d’affaires, Álvarez Márquez, previously served as president of the state-owned Banco del Tesoro, vice-minister for foreign trade, and superintendent of special economic zones — all under the Maduro government.

The reshuffle unfolds as Venezuela contends with the aftermath of two powerful earthquakes on 24 June, which killed at least 4,561 people, injured more than 16,700, and left tens of thousands without shelter. The United States has pledged nearly $400 million in humanitarian assistance and deployed two naval vessels to support reconstruction. The interim government’s next steps are expected to focus on channelling that aid and negotiating the terms of energy-sector cooperation, with the new unified ministry serving as the primary interlocutor.