Francis L. Donovan, the highest-ranking officer in the buildup of US forces in the Caribbean, became on February 18 the first military authority from his country to be received on an official visit since the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. The meeting with interim president Delcy Rodríguez ended with agreements to join forces in the fight against drug trafficking and terrorism and control migration.
First modification: 02/19/2026 - 07:35Last modification: 02/19/2026 - 07:36
The commander in chief of US forces in Latin America, General Francis Donovan, and senior Pentagon official Joseph Humire made a surprise visit to Venezuela on February 18 for security talks, US officials said.
This is the first visit by a US military delegation since US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a daring raid in January and transferred him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
The Government of Venezuela said the US military delegation met with interim President Delcy Rodríguez, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
Both Padrino and Cabello face accusations related to drug trafficking in the United States. However, both parties agreed to work together to combat drug trafficking, terrorism and migration, he added.
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The US military visit follows a trip last week by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright to Caracas.
Together, both trips highlight President Donald Trump's efforts to use military might and energy policy to pressure Venezuela into sweeping reforms.
Diplomacy: the best way
Washington has said it will manage Venezuela's oil business indefinitely and maintains a strong naval presence in the Caribbean, where the US military is blowing up ships suspected of transporting drugs and working with the Coast Guard to seize oil tankers linked to Venezuela.
The Government of the South American country has emphasized diplomacy as the preferred route for relations with Washington, which wants Caracas to break its ties with the United States' adversaries in the short term and open up to North American companies. Venezuela has the largest crude oil reserves in the world.
"The meeting reaffirms that diplomacy must be the mechanism to resolve differences and address issues of bilateral and regional interest," said the Minister of Communication of Venezuela, Miguel Ángel Pérez, in a publication in X.
The US Army's Southern Command said Donovan and Humire were accompanied in the talks by Laura Dogu, the new US envoy to the South American country.
"The talks focused on the security environment, measures to ensure implementation of President Donald Trump's three-phase plan, particularly the stabilization of Venezuela, and the importance of shared security across the Western Hemisphere," Southern Command said in a post on X.
Dogu, in a separate publication from the US embassy, called the day historic in the effort to "advance the goal of a Venezuela aligned with the United States."
Visits to Caracas by senior US officials were practically non-existent for many years, as bilateral relations with former President Hugo Chávez and then with Maduro were very tense.
For Donovan, it was his first trip to Latin America as head of Southern Command, a position he assumed on February 5. Before that, he helped lead U.S. military special operations around the world as number two in Special Operations Command.
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