Gov. Bill Richardson's recent trek to Venezuela wasn't sponsored by the U.S. government or the Organization of American States, a point the governor emphasized repeatedly to reporters.

Someday, however, a similar trip might be.

Richardson set out on his own last week to meet with President Hugo Chávez, aiming to enlist the Venezuelan leader in Richardson's quest to release three U.S. hostages from Colombian rebels. Chávez agreed to try.

Even without high-profile backing, the trip helped Richardson boost his image as a potential candidate for secretary of state or another high-profile diplomatic post, some political scientists say.

"Things like this help keep in mind his stature as an international statesman," Rice University political science professor Mark Jones said.

Jones doesn't think Richardson — who is backing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama — would be likely to land the top post at the State Department. But Jones believes the New Mexico governor has the skills for a job like assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs, in part because of his familiarity with Latin America.

Richardson, a former presidential candidate who is more than half-way through his second term as New Mexico's governor, will soon be looking for another job. He already has served in Congress and stayed out of the scramble for the U.S. Senate seat soon to be vacated by Republican Pete Domenici.

And getting out there and meeting with people like Chávez is one way to bolster his résumé, although Richardson is already known for his diplomatic abilities, said Louis DeSipio, an associate political science professor at the University of California, Irvine.

"It sort of adds to a long pattern of these missions he does," DeSipio said. "He probably could have gotten more attention if it was his first time."

The mission, coupled with his credentials as a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and one-time energy secretary, keep the governor on the list of possible secretary of state candidates, DeSipio said, but "I don't think it's a slam-dunk."

Although the journey was a big deal for Richardson, the meeting didn't generate a prominent news splash for him.

That could be in part because Latin America isn't the region of the world most important to the United States' foreign policy at the moment, Jones said.

"There really isn't that much of strategic importance to Latin America, with Venezuela — oil being the exception," said Jones, whose work focuses on the politics of South America.

While the trip garnered mostly small headlines in South America, it landed Richardson some attention stateside. The country's bigger papers carried Associated Press reports about the mission, and some network news channels mentioned it.

Blogs and political Web sites also paid attention to the trip, both criticizing and praising his meeting with the socialist Venezuelan leader, a Bush Administration antagonist.

A small, unscientific poll at www.about.com had Richardson leading other potential secretary of state candidates among 37 percent of the on-line respondents. His closest competitors were Richard Holbrooke, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Wesley Clarke.

The mission also gave Richardson something else, something perhaps just as important: a chance to keep his international credentials current. During the weekend journey, he dined with ambassadors and a former official with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

As part of the same endeavor to release the hostages, Richardson last month met with Colombian president Álvaro Uribe, another key player in the hostage-release mission.

While the meetings are an important gesture to reach out to Latin America, University of Minnesota political science professor Lawrence Jacobs said Richardson needs to be careful. "I actually think he's got a bit of a tightrope to walk. He has a high profile for diplomatic efforts, being effective at the United Nations," he said.

"But a president doesn't want a secretary of state who going to be a kind of a glamor boy. They want someone who can work in a team. An off-the-shelf Jimmy Carter kind of diplomat might not be a selling point."

Jacobs was referring to Carter's recent meeting with members of Hamas, something critics shunned.

"Rather than kind of hopscotching the world and grabbing photo opportunities, sitting down and giving thorough, persuasive, mature views should be his top priority," said Jacobs, who has taught for more than 20 years at the university.

Still, he added Richardson is likely to be in the mix as a secretary of state candidate should Obama win.

"Does Richardson have the kind of stature and experience that would put him in the running to be secretary of state? Definitely. No doubt he's a very credible diplomatic talent," Jacobs said.

But, he said, "there are a lot of folks out there."

If someone else did get the secretary of state post, Richardson might be interested in other positions within an Obama administration, said Christine Sierra, a political science professor at The University of New Mexico.

Among the possibilities is a special envoy to Mexico or a job with the Organization of American States, she said. A job like U.S. ambassador to Mexico might not give Richardson the ability to shape policy, as he seems to enjoy doing, she said.

"He's very interested in influencing policy, and I don't know how much an ambassador could do that," Sierra said.

Richardson, whose mother is Mexican, was born in a California hospital but grew up in Mexico City and has good relations with government officials there, including President Felipe Calderón. His 2003 visit to Mexico's capital city to meet with then-President Vicente Fox made a big splash in the press, landing him in photos on the front pages of several prominent newspapers. Since then, he has worked with both local and national government officials on issues including border security, trade and immigration.

For now, though, it seems Richardson has his sights set on the bigger job of secretary of state. He has denied the Venezuela trip is about wanting another job, but has said he'd think about offers in a Democratic administration.

Although he had met Chávez before this trip, Richardson worked hard at making a personal connection, bringing the president a baseball glove, a Luis Aparicio rookie card and a ball with the signatures of Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Duke Snider.

And although the colorful Chávez pledged to help, it remains unclear how much he can offer.

In articles published after Richardson left Venezuela, Chávez said he's lost contact with the rebels but hopes to reconnect with them over the hostage situation. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in the past have released hostages to him.

Richardson, not Chávez, will make the next move in the hostage standoff, which started in 2003.

Since he returned home from the trip, the governor has debriefed members of the hostages' families to keep them updated on the situation.

And his work doesn't appear to be getting any easier.

ABC News reported April 29 that FARC also has held hostage a Cuban-American businessman who was on a trip to Panama, Cecilio Juan Padron.

Richardson spokesman Allan Oliver said the governor is aware of the latest hostage. "We are still seeking information about that, but the governor does stand ready to help," he said.