Western Hemisphere
The US ambassador to Venezuela Patrick Duddy returned on Wednesday night to Caracas after been expelled in September, within the framework of the normalization of bilateral diplomatic relations that began last week.

In his few words to reporters, Duddy highlighted that his return has been a first important step, both for the United States and Venezuela, to restore relations at the ambassadorial level.

The US envoy said that the fact that Caracas and Washington "have welcomed the expelled ambassadors was an unprecedented event." "Hopefully, it could be the first step towards a more productive (bilateral) relation, with a more direct and fluid communication" between the two administrations, he added.

Venezuela's President, Hugo Chávez, expelled Duddy in September in solidarity with Bolivia's president, who had kicked out the top U.S. diplomat. Washington responded by expelling Bernardo Álvarez, Venezuela's ambassador to the United States.

Álvarez went back to Washington last Friday to resume his duties. He admitted that he hoped to achieve a new relation between the two countries because "the hemisphere is changing and the failure to understand that in the United States there has been a significant change would be petty."

The Venezuelan ambassador said that Chávez is willing to go to the United States if his US counterpart Barak Obama invites him to visit the country.