US military commander makes surprise visit to Venezuela

Courtney McBride, Bloomberg News on Feb 18, 2026

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The general in charge of U.S. Southern Command, charged with overseeing the military buildup in the Western Hemisphere and an ongoing campaign of strikes against alleged drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, made a surprise visit to Venezuela on Wednesday.

Marine Corps General Francis Donovan, who took over the command on Feb. 5, met with American military personnel as well as members of the country’s interim leadership, according to a Southern Command social media post.

In a meeting that included interim President Delcy Rodriguez, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, the group “agreed to work on the design of a bilateral cooperation agenda to combat the trafficking of illicit substances in our region, terrorism and migration,” according to a statement posted to the presidential palace’s X account.

Donovan’s trip follows a Feb. 10-11 gathering of defense chiefs from countries across the hemisphere, convened by Air Force General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to address shared security objectives. It comes more than a month after the U.S. military extracted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, from the country to face trial in the U.S.

Ambassador Laura Dogu, a former adviser to Caine, has been serving as the chargé d’affaires for the Venezuela Affairs Unit in Bogota since late January. Dogu and Joseph Humire, acting assistant secretary of Defense for homeland security and the Americas, joined Donovan on his trip to Caracas.

Under Donovan’s leadership, the campaign against “narco-terrorists” that began in September has continued, with a death toll of 144 suspects across 42 strikes as of Feb. 16, according to a Defense Department official.

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(With assistance from Derek Wallbank.)