James B. Story

James “Jimmy” Story is the Chargé d’ Affaires, for the Venezuela Affairs Unit. The unit is located at the United States Embassy in Bogota, Colombia. He was serving “in Caracas, Venezuela, until the temporary suspension of operations and the withdrawal of diplomatic personnel due to security concerns.” Before this, Story was Consul General in Rio de Janeiro.

When Story arrived in Caracas, it was to serve as deputy to Chargé d’ Affaires Todd Robinson. But Robinson was expelled in May 2018. Therefore, it was up “to Story to restore some civility to a U.S.-Venezuela relationship that has been rocky ever since the start of the late Hugo Chavez’s Bolivarian revolution two decades ago.”

He is considered to be “on the mission of his life ... (to keep) himself and a core group of committed American diplomats safe as the Trump administration ratchets up pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to force him to cede power.“ . While Maduro has praised Story for his professional conduct, his government has “described the remaining American diplomats as a threat to the country’s peace and stability.”

Story grew up in Moncks Corner, South Carolina and graduated with a B.A./B.Sc. in interdisciplinary studies from South Carolina College at the University of South Carolina. He also received a M.Sc. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.