US sends top general to Venezuela on surprise visit after Maduro’s capture PHOTO

The top U.S. military commander for Latin America, General Francis Donovan, and senior Pentagon official Joseph Humire made an unannounced visit to Venezuela on February 18 for security talks with interim authorities, U.S. officials said.

The trip marks the first visit by a U.S. military delegation since U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last month and transported him to New York to face drug‑trafficking charges, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Venezuela’s interim government said the delegation met with interim President Delcy Rodríguez, Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino, and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. The two sides agreed to cooperate on combating drug trafficking, terrorism, and migration, the statement added.

“The meeting reaffirms that diplomacy should be the mechanism for resolving differences and addressing issues of bilateral and regional interests,” Venezuela’s Communications Minister Miguel Angel Perez said in a post on X.

Both Padrino and Cabello face U.S. indictments related to drug trafficking.

The visit follows a trip last week by U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright to Caracas, highlighting President Donald Trump’s efforts to use military and energy policy to encourage reforms in Venezuela.

U.S. Southern Command said Donovan and Humire were joined by Laura Dogu, the new U.S. envoy to Venezuela. “Discussions focused on the security environment, steps to ensure the implementation of President Donald Trump’s three‑phase plan – particularly the stabilisation of Venezuela – and the importance of shared security across the Western Hemisphere,” Southern Command said in a post on X.

Dogu, in a separate post by the U.S. embassy, called it a historic day in the effort to “advance the objective of a Venezuela aligned with the United States.”

Visits by high-ranking U.S. officials to Caracas have been rare for many years, as relations with former Presidents Hugo Chávez and Maduro were severely strained.

For Donovan, this was his first trip to Latin America as head of Southern Command, a post he assumed on February 5 before that, he served as the No. 2 at U.S. Special Operations Command, overseeing special operations globally.

By Aghakazim Guliyev