Story, James Broward – Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela – May 2020

REPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

UNITED STATES SENATE

SUBJECT:            Ambassadorial Nomination:  Certificate of Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service Act, Section 304(a)(4)

POST:                  Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

CANDIDATE:     James Broward Story

James Broward Story, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Counselor, currently serves as the Charge d’Affaires a.i. of the Venezuela Affairs Unit based at the U.S. Embassy Bogota, Colombia which serves as our diplomatic mission to Venezuela.  Previously, he was the Charge d’Affaires a.i. at the US Embassy in Caracas until operations there were suspended in March, 2019.  Before Venezuela, Mr. Story was the Consul General of the U.S. Consulate General, Rio de Janeiro.  Other leadership positions held by Mr. Story include Director of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) for the Western Hemisphere and, before that, Director of INL for Colombia.  Mr. Story also was the Senior Civilian for Task Force Rakkasan in RC-East Afghanistan.  Mr. Story’s considerable experience working on and in Venezuela, his more than 15 years of work on Latin America, and his demonstrated ability to manage teams effectively in highly challenging environments combine to make him an excellent candidate to be the U.S. Ambassador to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Among Mr. Story’s earlier assignments was service as the Political/Economic Chief and the Deputy Principal Officer in Sao Paulo, Brazil; as the Regional Environmental Affairs Officer for South America in Brasilia, Brazil; and as an Officer in the Marine Conservation Office in the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans, Environment and Scientific Affairs.  Mr. Story also held positions at the U.S. Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique, the U.S. Consulate General in Guadalajara Mexico, and at the US Mission to the United Nations.

Mr. Story received his B.A./B.Sc from South Carolina College at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, and his M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.  He is the recipient of multiple State Department awards including the Warren Christopher Award for Outstanding Achievement in Global Affairs.  Mr. Story is also the recipient of the Department of the Army Superior Civilian Service Award.  He speaks Spanish and Portuguese.