The United Sates confirmed the nomination of its new ambassador to Venezuela in a Senate voice vote on Wednesday even though the two countries broke their diplomatic ties last year.
James Story, who was confirmed as the ambassador, had been serving as the Charge d' Affaires for the Venezuela Affairs Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, after the United States withdrew all its diplomats from its Caracas embassy.
The United States and Venezuela stopped exchanging ambassadors in 2010. In 2019, the two countries broke off their diplomatic relations shortly after Washington announced its backing of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's leader.