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Caribbean-Latin America

SOUTHCOM Commander Makes Surprise Visit to Venezuela

2026-02-19

[Breitbart] United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) commander, Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, met with Venezuela’s “acting President” Delcy Rodríguez and other members of the nation’s socialist regime Wednesday in a surprise visit to Caracas.

Keeping the kids on track by reminding them where the rails are.

Gen. Donovan’s visit marks the first time a U.S. military delegation visits Venezuela since the January 3 arrest of deposed socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Donovan’s hours-long lightning visit occurred hours after Rodríguez met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

The SOUTHCOM commander was accompanied by Ambassador Laura F. Dogu, Chargé d’Affaires to the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU) and by Joseph M. Humire, U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of War for Homeland Defense and the Americas.

“During the meeting, the leaders reiterated the United States’ commitment to a free, safe and prosperous Venezuela for the Venezuelan people, the United States, and the Western Hemisphere,” SOUTHCOM said in a press release.

“Discussions focused on the security environment, steps to ensure the implementation of President Donald Trump’s three-phase plan – particularly the stabilization of Venezuela – and the importance of shared security across the Western Hemisphere,” the statement concluded.

In a social media post, SOUTHCOM detailed that Gen. Donovan began his agenda by meeting with his team of Joint Force service members, “once again standing watch at U.S. Embassy facilities – and his interagency partners.”

The commander then met with the Venezuelan interim authorities to assess the security situation in the country, He then met with interim authorities to assess the security situation, ensure implementation of President Trump’s three-phase plan towards restoring democracy in Venezuela, and advance the goal of a “Venezuela aligned with the United States.”

“The United States reaffirms its commitment to a free, secure, and prosperous Venezuela for the Venezuelan people, the United States, and the Western Hemisphere. SOUTHCOM is committed to advancing the National Security Strategy by working with partner nations to build a secure and prosperous future for the hemisphere,” the U.S. embassy in Caracas said on a social media post alongside a Spanish translation of SOUTHCOM’s press release.

Courtesy of Clem+Elmish4239, PJ Media adds:

It's hard to put into words just how historic this is, but it's yet another win for the Trump administration. I just Googled it to see if the MSM is reporting on it — so far, it looks like just a few outlets, like the Jerusalem Post and Reuters, are the only others mentioning it. That could change tomorrow, but the media does not like to celebrate these wins. I will.

Here are some other things you might not find in the MSM.

I've seen many headlines that Venezuelans are somewhat worried about the country's future, and I'm sure some are, but according to a poll from Gold Glove Consulting, 72% felt that the country is "moving in the right direction following [Nicolás] Maduro's January 3 capture."

When it comes to hypothetical elections that will hopefully be held at some point in the not too distant future, Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leader María Corina Machado wins by a landslide with at least 67% of the vote. Only 25% of people said they wanted to Delcy to stay in place. I'm shocked it's even that high, but I do hear from many people that there are some, mostly older, holdouts in the country who still support the regime. Thankfully, the young people seem to be heading in the opposite direction.

All of that said, 58% are concerned about security.

There are still some bad actors within the regime, and they keep testing Delcy, Marco Rubio, and Trump. As I wrote earlier this week, 86-year-old Evanan Romero, a U.S. citizen who is helping the Trump administration court oil investors, was arrested last Friday. He was held for about four days and released on Tuesday afternoon. Apparently, the reason was a charge that dated back to a 2010 case, but since Romero comes and goes from Venezuela often, many exiles have said the reasons were political or an attempt to disrupt the forward movement of the energy sector.

As I said on Tuesday, "I suspect he's correct, and it is related to some old case, or other factions of the regime, like Diosdado Cabello, are attempting to assert their authority a little bit — authority they don't seem to realize that they no longer have." The fact that he was released quickly may prove that they were reminded they no longer have that authority and are not exempt from another Delta Force visit.

Speaking of political prisoners, there have been no major updates this week on releases. The human rights group Foro Penal said as of Wednesday night that only 448 releases have been confirmed. That said, there is some talk that the proposed amnesty bill that was introduced late last month will go up for a second round of discussions in the Chavismo National Assembly on Thursday afternoon. I'll keep an eye on that.

Speaking of chatter, several people in various exile communities have reported that MAGA Delcy is currently in the process of removing portraits of Maduro and Hugo Chávez from Miraflores Palace. I can't confirm this, but it's made for some good jokes and memes.

If you'll remember, last week, during an interview with NBC, she asserted that Maduro is still the rightful president of Venezuela, and the MSM ran with this as if it meant something. When questioned about it earlier this week, Trump said, "I think she probably has to say that. I think politically maybe she has to say that, but the relationship with Venezuela… well, she's doing a really good job, and I fully understand."

I can't say this enough — the woman is walking a fine line between doing exactly what Trump tells her to do and trying to keep the other Chavistas happy. We're not out of the woods yet, but we're making progress.

Last but not least, speaking of opposition leader Machado, she appeared on Jesse Watters Primetime on Fox News on Wednesday night, and said she is quite anxious to get back to Venezuela and help with the transition. Of course, it's not safe for her to do so yet, but she did say something interesting: There are over a million Venezuelans living in exile in the U.S. She estimated that 70% will voluntarily return home once a democracy is in place. That's a big number, but I can say that I've personally met and talked to many over the last year who are ready to return home and make their country great again and see their families and friends. With any luck, they'll get to do that soon.

Posted by:Skidmark

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