Venezuela's president appoints Felix Plasencia as new foreign minister

ANKARA

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appointed Felix Plasencia as the country’s new foreign minister Thursday.

"He has the immense responsibility to continue the excellent diplomatic work carried out by Jorge Arreaza," Maduro said on Twitter.

In a separate tweet, the president announced Arreaza's appointment as minister of industries and national production.

"With his work capacity, intelligence and commitment, we will advance with greater force in the revitalization of the productive forces of the Nation," he said. "Produce everything in Venezuela, that's the goal!"

Arreaza, who held the top diplomatic post since August 2017, backed Plasencia by tweeting: "All the support Felix. He counts unconditionally on our accumulated experience in the fight to guarantee the definitive success of the Bolivarian Diplomacy of Peace."

Maduro also appointed Remigio Ceballos Ichaso as the new minister for internal relations, justice and peace, Yelitze Santaella as education minister, Margaud Godoy as minister for women and gender equality, William Serantes Pinto as minister of ecological mining development, and Mervin Maldonado as the new vice president for social and territorial socialism.