MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Tuesday, July 14th 2026 - 07:06 UTC
Plasencia, 53, is a career diplomat with more than three decades in Venezuela's foreign service
Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, has appointed diplomat Félix Plasencia to head a new Ministry of Foreign Relations and Trade, merging the diplomatic and foreign trade portfolios. Plasencia had until now served as Venezuela's chief of mission in the United States, and replaces Yvan Gil, foreign minister since 2023, who moves to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Rodríguez announced the changes through her official channels. “I have appointed the internationalist Félix Plasencia, who has extensive diplomatic experience and will be tasked with directing Venezuelan foreign policy, defending our sovereignty, strengthening cooperative relations and promoting peace diplomacy in the world,” she wrote. The merger of the two ministries leaves out of the cabinet Johan Álvarez, who had headed Foreign Trade since March.
