Politics
Patrick Duddy, the US ambassador to Venezuela, returned on Thursday to his office after a nine-month forced break. The US envoy smiled and expressed his satisfaction for his return to Caracas.

The top diplomat answered questions from reporters at the US embassy in the context of the anniversary of the Independence of the United States. Duddy said: "Venezuela and the US have a lot of things to discuss. Hopefully, the reinstatement of ambassadors may facilitate the dialogue."

The US diplomat described the restoration of relations between the two countries at an ambassadorial level as "a positive step, given the difficulties of the past year." He was expelled in September 2008 by the Venezuelan government in solidarity with his Bolivian counterpart President Evo Morales, who also expelled US Ambassador Philip Goldberg.

With regard to the common aspects that the two countries must address, Duddy said: "Our two national agendas share aspects such as energy, democracy, the rule of law, public health, environmental protection and the fight against international crime." Duddy hopes that the two countries take profit of the commitment assumed by Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez and his US counterpart, Barack Obama "to restore relations at the highest level and to work for a better future."

The Venezuelan authorities have criticized the reports issued by the State Department and termed them "meddling" in Venezuela's internal affairs. Venezuelan policies in topics such as drugs, human rights and human trafficking have been under fire in these reports, which, despite Venezuelan government criticisms, will not end.

"I doubt that we can change our behavior with respect to the issuance of reports. The US has not a political stance but a legal obligation to release reports about a wide array of topics. They refer not only to Venezuela but to all the countries that are our partners around the world," Duddy stressed.

Reyes Theis
EL UNIVERSAL