Chief of US Southern Command on visit to Venezuela: embassy

by AFP Staff Writers
Caracas (AFP) Feb 19, 2026

The chief of the US military command responsible for strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats off South America, visited Venezuela Wednesday and held talks with interim leader Delcy Rodriguez and her top ministers, its government said.

US Southern Command (SOUTCHOM) chief General Francis Donovan met with Rodriguez as well as Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a government account posted on X.

It added that the two countries "agreed to work on forming a bilateral cooperation agenda in order to combat drug trafficking, terrorism, and migration."

The visit follows last month's ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a deadly US military operation.

The US Embassy posted a photo on X of Donovan -- who commands US military operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean -- in the Venezuelan capital.

It said Donovan met US military personnel who guard embassy facilities and then members of the interim government "to assess the security situation."

SOUTHCOM has been in charge of dozens of strikes on boats Washington claims, without providing evidence, were transporting drugs.

More than 130 people have been killed, some of them fishermen according to their families and governments.

The embassy, restaffed since the toppling of Maduro whom Washington accuses of involvement in drug trafficking, said Donovan held "productive meetings" with Venezuela's interim authorities.

"The leaders reiterated the United States' commitment to a free, secure, and prosperous Venezuela, for the benefit of the Venezuelan people, the United States, and the Western Hemisphere," it said on X.

"The discussions focused on the security environment, the steps necessary to ensure the implementation of President Donald Trump's three-phase plan -- particularly the stabilization of Venezuela -- and the importance of shared security throughout the Western Hemisphere."

The previously-stated final step of the three-phase plan is "the transition to a friendly, stable, prosperous and democratic Venezuela."

Donovan was appointed by US President Donald Trump in December, just days before the raid that led to Maduro's capture.

Interim leader Rodriguez, who had been Maduro's vice president, took over with Trump's consent, provided she grants access to Venezuela's vast oil resources.

Donovan replaced an admiral who, according to media reports, had criticized the boat strikes.