La encargada de negocios de Estados Unidos en Venezuela, Laura Dogu, afirmó este lunes tras la reapertura de la embajada estadounidense en Caracas que el proceso bilateral “apenas está comenzando y falta mucho por hacer”.

Dogu puntualizó que la reactivación de la sede diplomática es solo el primer paso de una hoja de ruta definida por la administración Trump, que contempla tres fases para la reconstrucción política, económica e institucional de Venezuela.

“La reapertura es solo el inicio, falta mucho por hacer mientras seguimos ejecutando el plan de tres fases de la Administración Trump”, remarcó Dogu en un mensaje publicado en redes sociales.

La diplomática detalló que el trabajo inmediato se centrará en fortalecer la relación con empresarios, actores políticos y la sociedad civil venezolana.

Entre las prioridades, la embajada buscará crear puentes entre compañías de ambos países y establecer canales formales de diálogo con todos los sectores políticos y organizaciones independientes.

La estrategia delineada por la administración Trump establece una primera fase enfocada en la estabilización económica, con énfasis en la recuperación del sector petrolero y la generación de condiciones para el retorno de inversores extranjeros.

La segunda etapa prevé el ingreso de capital internacional y la reactivación productiva en sectores clave, mientras que la tercera fase plantea una transición política destinada a consolidar un gobierno estable y democrático.

Dogu subrayó que la implementación de este programa “demanda tiempo, cooperación y el compromiso de todas las partes” y que los desafíos estructurales del país solo podrán superarse con un trabajo coordinado y gradual.

La embajada, además, prevé abrir oportunidades laborales y está acondicionando sus instalaciones para, en una etapa posterior, ofrecer servicios consulares de forma plena.

El equipo diplomático estadounidense indicó que la sede funcionará como canal de reconstrucción de la confianza bilateral y como plataforma para promover nuevas oportunidades de diálogo. Funcionarios norteamericanos recalcaron que la interlocución política y social abarcará a sectores oficialistas, de la oposición y de la sociedad civil.

De forma paralela, la embajada venezolana en Washington fue entregada a una delegación oficial enviada por Caracas, en el marco del restablecimiento de relaciones.

El viceministro Oliver Blanco informó sobre reuniones con funcionarios estadounidenses orientadas a “explorar oportunidades de fortalecimiento” en el vínculo bilateral.

Tras el cambio de régimen en Caracas, con la salida del narcodictador Nicolás Maduro y la asunción de Delcy Rodríguez como jefa del chavismo, Estados Unidos comenzó a levantar de manera gradual sanciones sobre el sector petrolero venezolano.

El Departamento del Tesoro autorizó transacciones para facilitar la reapertura de la embajada venezolana en Washington y el acceso a recursos financieros, impulsando la reactivación económica.

En el Congreso, el secretario de Estado Marco Rubio explicó que las tres fases del plan pueden solaparse, y que la prioridad es construir las bases de una transición política que garantice estabilidad y democracia.

“La reanudación de las operaciones en la Embajada de Estados Unidos en Caracas es un hito clave en la implementación del plan de tres fases del presidente para Venezuela y fortalecerá nuestra capacidad de interactuar directamente con el gobierno interino venezolano, la sociedad civil y el sector privado”, expresó el Departamento de Estado en un comunicado.

La administración estadounidense mantiene la vigilancia sobre los ingresos de la venta de petróleo venezolano, asegurando que los fondos sean utilizados para la reconstrucción institucional. Además, Washington sostiene una flotilla en el Caribe para combatir el tráfico ilícito y reforzar la seguridad regional.

El proceso de restablecimiento diplomático ocurre en medio de reformas políticas en Caracas, la liberación de presos políticos y cambios en el sector energético. Laura Dogu reiteró que “falta mucho por hacer” e invitó a todos los sectores venezolanos a sumarse a un esfuerzo conjunto para consolidar una transición ordenada y sostenible.

(Con información de EFE)

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Spain is grappling with the death of a 25-year-old woman from Barcelona who was euthanized following a series of tragic events despite multiple legal challenges from her father.

Noelia Castillo Ramos’ case galvanized international attention after her father, Gerónimo Castillo, mounted a legal battle against the authorization of various Spanish courts for his daughter to receive euthanasia in 2023. Aided by Abogados Cristianos (Christian Lawyers), a conservative Catholic organization, Mr. Castillo exhausted all appeals to the Spanish courts.

The father argued that his daughter wasn’t fully psychologically able to make a decision regarding euthanasia and that she needed better medical and psychiatric care. His legal battle was ultimately shut down by the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, on March 10.

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The case of Castillo Ramos is just the latest in euthanasia deaths across Europe, but the Barcelona woman’s choice to die has inflamed passions across the country.

Castillo Ramos’ parents divorced when she was 13 and spent almost four years in public tutelage centers when she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) — a serious psychiatric condition often leading to severe depression, suicide ideation and a tendency to addiction.

By her own account, in an interview she gave before dying to Spanish TV channel Antena 3 she tried to commit suicide at least twice despite being under intensive psychiatric care. In her first suicide attempt, she took several pills and ingested a toxic automotive liquid, but was saved by her mother, who took her to the hospital for a gastric-intestinal cleansing procedure.

Things got worse for her when she left the home and ended up being sexually assaulted multiple times when she was about 20. First, she was sexually abused by a former boyfriend after taking sleeping pills. Soon after, two men attempted to rape her while in a nightclub, leaving her deeply scarred, and as reports indicate, this led her to a care home for worsening psychiatric symptoms.

Several people pray at the entrance of the Sant Camil hospital, on 26 March 2026 in Sant Pere de Ribes, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The magistrate of the 20th Preliminary Section of the Barcelona Court of First Instance has denied for the third time the adoption of the precautionary measures requested by the Spanish Foundation of Christian Lawyers, which asked to suspend the application of euthanasia to Noelia Castillo Ramos from Barcelona. Castillo Ramos died on Thursday. ( Lorena Sopena/Europa Press via Getty Images)

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There, she was gang-raped by three men. With her mental state deteriorating, she attempted suicide by jumping out of the fifth floor of a building.

Multiple reports and social media posts originally indicated that the three rapists who assaulted her were immigrant minors under the care of the state – something the Barcelona-based newspaper El Periódico says is false.

Many Spaniards have reacted angrily the court’s authorization for her to receive euthanasia, accusing the leftist government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of not providing the girl with adequate medical care, opening up the country to mass migration, lack of policing and ultimately handing down euthanasia as a solution to her case.

Several people pray at the entrance of the Sant Camil hospital, on 26 March, 2026 in Sant Pere de Ribes, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The magistrate of the 20th Preliminary Section of the Barcelona Court of First Instance has denied for the third time the adoption of the precautionary measures requested by the Spanish Foundation of Christian Lawyers, which asked to suspend the application of euthanasia to the young woman from Barcelona scheduled for this Thursday afternoon.  (Lorena Sopena/Europa Press via Getty Images)

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After her interview on Spanish TV, several anonymous donors and public figures, including pianist James Rhodes, offered to fund her treatment and to provide her and her family with material assistance if she decided against having the procedure.

The Catalan High Court of Justice confirmed to Fox News Digital that all legal and medical requirements, including a favorable opinion by the Catalan Commission of Guarantee and Evaluation (CGEC), had been met and that there was nothing preventing the young woman from receiving the requested euthanasia.

Noelia died at 6 p.m. local time on Thursday at Hospital Sant Pere de Ribes in Barcelona. She is the youngest person ever to be euthanized in Spain under the country’s assisted dying law passed in 2021.

Vice President JD Vance has long been seen as the heir apparent to President Donald Trump and his MAGA and America First base. While Vance remains the hypothetical clear front-runner ahead of the start of the 2028 White House race, which won’t ignite until after this year’s midterm elections, Secretary of State Marco Rubio appears to be on the rise.

Thanks to an increase in his responsibilities and public profile, most recently around the U.S. operation in Venezuela and the month-long strikes against Iran, Rubio has seen his support for a possible presidential bid soar in recent weeks.

The latest example — Rubio’s strong second-place finish this weekend in the 2028 Republican presidential nomination straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

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Rubio, who was one of more than a dozen Republican contenders who ran and lost to Trump in the tumultuous 2016 presidential race, grabbed 35% of the vote at CPAC when the straw poll results were announced this past weekend, up from a mere 3% a year earlier.

Vance, who is popular with MAGA and America First groups, finished first at 53%. While the vice president saw his support slightly edge down from 61% last year, Vance’s numbers are higher than any one else in CPAC presidential straw poll history other than Trump.

All the other potential Republican 2028 White House candidates in the new straw poll scored in the low single digits in the informal survey of CPAC attendees.

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The CPAC straw poll follows recent numbers from the Saint Anselm College Survey Center in New Hampshire, the state that has long held the first primary in the GOP presidential nominating calendar, that also showed Rubio surging. And a handful of national polls have also pointed to a rise in support for a hypothetical Rubio bid.

The results are fuel for intrigue over what some in the Republican Party see as a budding rivalry between Rubio and Vance, who describe each other as friends.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025.  (Yuri Gripas/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

«His overall favorability is going up because voters see him as a capable and steady person in the president’s cabinet, and Trump supporters are reacting,» New Hampshire Institute of Politics Executive Director Neil Levesque, who oversees the Saint Anselm poll, told Fox News Digital.

Partially fueling Rubio’s rise is Trump, who has lavishly praised his secretary of state.

The president recently declared that Rubio would go down as «the greatest secretary of state in history.»

Trump has also promoted a Vance-Rubio ticket — calling it «unstoppable» a few months ago—but has not said who should be at the top of the ticket.

But the president did say last year that Vance is «most likely» his heir apparent. «In all fairness, he’s the vice president,» Trump added.

Vice President JD Vance, left, and President Donald Trump attend the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace on Feb. 19, 2026, in Washington, DC.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

While Vance has demurred when questioned about 2028, he has built a political team of advisers who, if he runs as expected, would quickly build out a presidential campaign.

Rubio, who is crisscrossing the globe as part of job requirements, doesn’t have a similar group of political aides. And Rubio has said he’ll back Vance if the vice president launches a 2028 campaign.

«If JD Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee, and I’ll be one of the first people to support him,» Rubio told Vanity Fair late last year.

Regardless, Republican sources confirm to Fox News that a group of GOP donors who support the secretary of state are quietly working on ways to boost Rubio’s political profile.

That’s not sitting well with some in the president’s political orbit.

«Vice President Vance is the future of the Republican Party and Marco Rubio is one of his closest friends in the administration,» an operative in Trump’s political orbit told Fox News.

«The divisive stories from some donors trying to cause chaos are not helpful,» the operative, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, emphasized.

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Vance has also weighed in, telling Fox News’ Martha MacCallum last month that «Marco is my closest friend in the administration.»

And the vice president, in his interview on Fox News’ «The Story,» added, «I think it’s so interesting the media wants to create this conflict where there just isn’t any conflict.»