MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

SOUTHCOM chief and senior Pentagon official visit Venezuela, meet interim government

According to U.S. Southern Command, the program included an engagement with joint force personnel stationed at U.S. Embassy facilities in Caracas

U.S. Southern Command chief Gen. Francis L. Donovan and Pentagon official Joseph M. Humire made an unannounced trip to Caracas on Wednesday and met Venezuela’s interim authorities, signaling continued operational engagement between Washington and the government led by Delcy Rodríguez.

U.S. envoy for Venezuela affairs Laura Dogu described the day as “another historic day” and said the visitors met “with the interim authorities” to review security matters and “ensure implementation” of President Donald Trump’s three-phase plan, while advancing the goal of a Venezuela “aligned with the United States,” in a message posted on X.

According to U.S. Southern Command, the program included an engagement with joint force personnel stationed at U.S. Embassy facilities in Caracas, reopened recently, and discussions focused on the “stabilization” phase of the U.S. plan for Venezuela. In a readout, SOUTHCOM said the United States is committed to “a free, safe and prosperous Venezuela” and will advance U.S. national security and defense strategies “in partnership with like-minded nations” across the hemisphere.

Venezuela’s interim government said Donovan and Humire met Delcy Rodríguez and ministers Vladimir Padrino (Defense) and Diosdado Cabello (Interior) to agree on a “bilateral cooperation agenda” against drug trafficking, terrorism and migration. The government said the meeting reaffirmed diplomacy as the mechanism to address bilateral and regional issues.

The visit follows the embassy reopening and comes amid recent high-level contacts in Caracas since early January. Reuters reported the U.S. delegation also met with U.S. military personnel on the ground and circulated official imagery of the Caracas meeting.