U.S. Ambassador to venezuela: Patrick Duddy
Patrick Duddy, MA’80, arrived in Caracas in October 2007 to begin his three-year term as U.S. ambassador to a nation whose president, Hugo Chávez, has been a vocal critic of President George W. Bush’s policies. A career member of the State Department’s Senior Foreign Service, Duddy has served in embassies in Chile, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Brazil, and Panama.
By David McKay Wilson, LA’78
Q. What are the biggest challenges you face in Venezuela?
A. Political tensions, a robust commercial relationship, and [the need for] important people-to-people contact. The current administration in Venezuela has argued for a different vision for the hemisphere and has frequently positioned that vision as an alternative to [the U.S. view]. What we do here is in that context. So I’m looking for ways that our interests manifestly overlap and finding ways to cooperate in the interests of both nations. {Venezuela’s leaders] are democratically elected, and we are prepared to sit down and find common ground.
Q. On what issues will the United States and Venezuela cooperate?
A. We are talking about engagement on a range of issues that concern both countries. We’ll work hard to support democracy and economic development, and to support investment in people and the kinds of programs that materially improve the conditions of life. We hope to encourage cooperation on issues that speak to security concerns in the whole hemisphere, such as counter-narcotics.
Q. Maintaining good economic relations also seems crucial.
A. There’s an extraordinary commercial relationship—$46 billion a year in trade. Depending on the year, Venezuela is our fourth- or fifth-largest supplier of petroleum. We also export a substantial quantity of goods to Venezuela.
Q. The United States and Venezuela share a love for the game of baseball, and many Venezuelans play in Major League Baseball. The U.S. embassy in Caracas runs baseball clinics that stress an antidrug message. Why combine the two issues?
A. Narcotics is something that concerns people throughout the hemisphere, both north and south. Over the years, we have learned, much to our sorrow, that it’s not something that can be addressed quickly or unilaterally to any great effect.
Q. What personal qualities do you possess that make you a good diplomat?
A. I’m interested in communications, foreign cultures, and foreign languages. Also, this is my eighth tour of duty with the State Department in Latin America; I’ve worked here a long time, watching the political evolution over the last quarter century.
Q. Was becoming an ambassador one of your professional goals?
A. I hoped one day I’d have the opportunity to serve as an ambassador, but these positions involve a presidential nomination and a U.S. Senate confirmation. Realistically, you can’t hold your breath waiting for that. So I’ve enjoyed my time in the Foreign Service all the way along.
Q. During your twenty-five years in Latin America, what have been your most challenging assignments?
A. I’ve enjoyed all the assignments in different ways. I was in Panama when we were getting ready to turn over the Panama Canal. It was the end of a twenty-year process that culminated in 1999. I was the counselor for public affairs, so I had to explain this tremendously complicated process to the world’s media, during a genuinely historic moment.
Q. When you served as deputy assistant secretary for the Western Hemisphere from 2005 to 2007, you worked with the Organization of American States and the 9,000-member UN peacekeeping force in Haiti. What was that like?
A. The peacekeeping mission had soldiers from two or three dozen countries, so it’s a fascinating process how you all work together. The work was such a challenge because you have so many different ways of doing things. Then there were the language issues, with a Brazilian commander overseeing troops from Argentina and Jordan.
Q. One of your jobs as a diplomat is explaining the American political system to people in foreign countries. Can that be difficult?
A. Our system is immensely complex. Although there is an enormous degree of transparency—and press reports about everything—transparency is not synonymous with simplicity.
Q. What originally drew you to the Foreign Service?
A. I came from a family where international affairs were discussed at home. And, for many of us who became adults during the Vietnam War era, public service was both attractive and seen as something inherently important for us to do.