Saturday, September 13, 2008

Still Here

Today I went to a "Welcome to Venezuela" brunch at the Ambassador's residence. It is a beautiful hacienda style home recently purchased and refurbished by the US Government. It has extensive, lush grounds and an enormous pool reminiscent of stateside resorts. I have not yet met the current US Ambassador to Venezuela, Ambassador Patrick Duddy,


and it is likely that I will not as President Hugo Chavez had him expelled from the country yesterday - he was given 72 hours to get out. Our favorite would be dictator said that he was sending Ambassador Duddy home as a sign of solidarity with Bolivian President Evo Morales, who, the day before, expelled the US Ambassdor to Bolivia and threatened to shut down our embassy there. Chavez also called his ambassador to the US back home to Venezuela saying he would not send another ambassador to America until there was a new administration in the White House. In the past, Chavez has occasionally threatened to close the embassy in Venezuela but at this point no one is predicting that eventuality so we are still open for business and our family is still in Caracas for the forseeable future.

At present, things in Bolivia are very bad with the country seemingly on the verge of civil war. Luckily and thankfully that is not the situation in Venezuela. We have heard from many of our friends and readers and just want to assure you all that we are still here and safe.

10 comments:

♥Shally said...

Glad you are ok.

We have family in Bolivia and worry about them constantly...

Annemarie said...

You lead a VERY exciting life.

Cassidy said...

Exciting??

kathybartlett said...

I have been worried about you guys ever since I heard about your ambassador being expelled from Venezuela. Then, I remembered your blog. Thank you for letting us know that you are ok. I pray that the situation will stabilize.

Love you,

Kathy Bartlett

diane said...

Wow, that guy is a control freak. Keep us posted.

Lauren in GA said...

I am glad you are okay.

Your experiences are amazing and scary, too. I am kind of speechless...

lis said...

are you missing little ole' Peru, yet?! ;) however I have to say, we don't get this kind of excitement!!! :)

Jake said...

I know. I heard this on the radio and immediately thought, "but what about kenny and linsey?"

Glad everything's ok. Keep us up-to-date.

Anonymous said...

Hey Linsey! You need to tell me how you guys ended up in Venezuela! My husband is from Bolivia so we have been keeping up on the outing of the US Ambas's there...crazy, eh?

CStubits said...

Hmm, we were semi hoping for a return visit from you all, but glad to hear all is the same in Chavez land. But maybe now we won't plan on visiting you at this post anymore. Maybe. :)

 

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