Kevin Whitaker

In May 2014 Venezuelan officials claimed that Whitaker was personally involved in a U.S. attempt to destabilize the leftist government of President Nicolás Maduro. The Venezuelan government, which blamed the U.S. for protests in Venezuela, cited supposed emails from opposition lawmaker María Corina Machado stating that Whitaker had offered his support to the opposition. Maduro's government gave no information on how it acquired apparently private emails, and offered no evidence to support the authenticity of the emails. In a statement, the State Department called the accusations "baseless and false" and said: "We've seen many times that the Venezuelan government tries to distract from its own actions by blaming the United States." An expert in cybersecurity forensics said the emails used by the Venezuelan government to accuse the opposition of a plot were fake.

Whitaker has served in the United Kingdom, Jamaica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, where he was Deputy Chief of Mission (2005–07). In addition, he previously served in a number of positions at the Department of State, including as coordinator of the Office of Cuban Affairs (2002–05), Deputy Executive Secretary (2007–08), and director of the office of Andean affairs (2008–11).

Whitaker was born in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. He is a graduate of Merritt Island High School, in Merritt Island, Florida. He received his degree in history from the University of Virginia in 1979.

Kevin Whitaker (born April 28, 1957) is a United States career diplomat who is the former United States Ambassador to Colombia. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 1, 2014, and sworn in on April 28, 2014.