Venezuelan Embassy in Limbo
By • February 6, 2019 0 1133
Situated adjacent to the National Park Service’s C&O Canal Park, the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela sits empty at 1099 30th St. NW — less than two blocks from the Potomac River — in Georgetown.
With National Assembly leader Juan Guaidó recognized by the United States as the president of Venezuela, incumbent president Nicolás Maduro ordered the closure of the D.C. embassy and all Venezuelan consulates in the United States.
As the face-off between Guaidó and Maduro continues, the new Venezuelan ambassador to the United States, Carlos Vecchio, cannot go to the 30th Street embassy, which is directly across from The Georgetowner Newspaper’s address. The back door of the embassy faces the St. James Place residence, which also fronts on 29th Street.
The seemingly deserted building posted signs that read “no Consular Service until further notice” and a note to postal workers and delivery services asks them to ring the door bell and wait for a response.
As for ascertaining the status of properties in the U.S. owned by Venezuela as well as its D.C. embassy building, Vecchio told the press last week, “We are working on that, and I hope we can have this resolved in the days to come.”
Meanwhile, Vecchio must meet elsewhere in the nation’s capital — and not in what should be his Georgetown office.
