Carlos Vecchio

Carlos Alfredo Vecchio DeMari (born 6 June 1969) is a Venezuelan lawyer, politician and social activist,[1] named by Juan Guaidó in January 2019 during the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis—and accepted by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo—as Chargé d'Affaires of the Government of Venezuela to the United States.[2]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Vecchio and the second or maternal family name is DeMari.
Carlos Vecchio
Venezuelan Chargé d'Affaires to the United States
Assumed office
March 2019
Disputed
PresidentJuan Guaidó (disputed)
Personal details
Born (1969-06-06) 6 June 1969
Caripe, Monagas, Venezuela
Political partyPopular Will
Alma materCentral University of Venezuela, Georgetown University, Harvard University

Early life and education

Vecchio was born on 6 June 1969 in Caripe, Monagas state, Venezuela, the youngest of three children, to Maria Teresa Demari de Vecchio, a teacher, and Rafael Vecchio, a political activist and three-term council person for Caripe.[1] He moved to Caracas in 1987, studied at the Central University of Venezuela,[3] and earned his law degree in 1992.[4]

From 1994 to 1998, Vecchio was a legal consult for Venezuela's state-run oil company, PDVSA.[5]

He did postgraduate studies in law at Georgetown University and public administration at Harvard University,[1] where he was a Fulbright scholar at the Kennedy School of Government.[3] Vecchio then returned to work as a tax manager for ExxonMobil in Venezuela.[6]

Political career
Carlos Vecchio's arrest warrant.

In 2006, Vecchio grew opposed to the economic policy of the Hugo Chávez administration and began to think about being involved in Venezuelan politics.[6] When Chávez expropriated ExxonMobil's assets within Venezuela, Vecchio's boss offered him a position in Qatar that included a pay increase, an assigned house and car, a company share package and more benefits.[6] Vecchio said he immediately declined the offer and decided at that point to become involved in politics.[6]

Vecchio later helped found the social-democratic Popular Will (Spanish: Voluntad Popular) political party with Leopoldo López and Guaidó.[7][4] With López imprisoned by the Venezuelan government, Vecchio was serving as leader of the party, when he was charged with incitement to violence.[8] He went into hiding,[9] and later sought exile in the US.[10]

In January 2019, Vecchio was named by Juan Guaidó, and accepted by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as Chargé d'Affaires of the Government of Venezuela to the United States.[2][11][12] In that capacity he has participated in efforts to remove Maduro.[4] He told the Washington Diplomat that the outgoing Maduro embassy staff had taken all valuables from the Washington Embassy as they left. “They dismantled everything, but we need to recover all of it legally because I want to have in the official record how we received those assets, to show the Venezuelan people what they did.”[4]

Michael Shifter told The Washington Diplomat that Vecchio is "extremely impressive and sharp ... He’s got the background, skills and temperament for the job ...  he’s level-headed and realistic, and he’s been in this fight for a long time."[4] The director of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, Jason Marczak, said "he’s eloquent and articulate, and he’s able to maneuver in different circles", and that he will need to educate "folks like Bernie Sanders and others on the Hill who have started becoming critical of U.S. policy there."[4]

During an appearance on the BBC Four Beyond 100 Days news programme on 30 April 2019, the programme hosts referred to Vecchio as Venezuela's "Ambassador to the US", rather than as the US-recognized Chargé d'Affaires.

Recognition

Vecchio is a 2013 fellow of the Yale University Maurice R. Greenberg World Fellows Program.[7]

Publications
  • Vecchio, Carlos with foreword by Luis Almagro and introduction by Leopoldo López (19 June 2018). Libres: El nacimiento de una nueva Venezuela (in Spanish). Círculo Editorial Visión Progresista / Editorial Dahbar / Cyngular Asesoría 357, C.A. ASIN B07DVTJCF6.

References
  1. "Carlos Vecchio: Quién Soy" (in Spanish). Carlos Vecchio. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  2. Pompeo, Mike (27 January 2019). "Representative of the Government of Venezuela to the United States" (Press release). U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  3. Shaikh, Salaar and Azad Amanat (9 November 2013). "An Interview with Yale World Fellow, Carlos Vecchio". The Politic. Yale University. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  4. Luxner, Larry (26 February 2019). "Exclusive: Venezuela's U.S.-Recognized Envoy Insists Democracy Will Triumph Over Dictatorship". The Washington Diplomat. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  5. Vecchio, Carlos (2018). Libres : el nacimiento de una nueva Venezuela. Círculo Editorial Visión Progresista. ISBN 978-9804250255.
  6. Vecchio, Carlos (2018). Libres : el nacimiento de una nueva Venezuela. Círculo Editorial Visión Progresista. pp. 37–57. ISBN 978-9804250255.
  7. "Carlos Vecchio". Maurice R. Greenberg World Fellows Program. Yale University. 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  8. Mogollan, Mery and Chris Kraul (28 February 2014). "Venezuela seeks opposition figure's arrest; protest death toll rises". LA Times. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  9. Padgett, time (18 May 2017). "Venezuela's Exiled Opposition Leader Vecchio: Regime May Be 'Close To Breaking Point'". WLRN. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  10. "Dirigente de Voluntad Popular, Carlos Vecchio, se fue del país pese a orden de captura". Diario Panorama (in Spanish). 9 February 2015. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  11. O'Boyle, Brendan (13 February 2019). "AQ INTERVIEW: Carlos Vecchio, Guaidó's Top Diplomat: "Change is Unavoidable"". www.americasquarterly.org. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  12. Guaido official: We're willing to negotiate - CNN Video, retrieved 6 January 2020
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