U.S. Conducts Military Drill Over Venezuelan Capital Caracas

EPA

Members of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service observe a US Osprey helicopter in Caracas.

The U.S. military conducted a drill over Caracas on Saturday, marking its first military exercise in Venezuela since U.S. forces captured former President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during an operation in January, according to Reuters.

Reuters reported that the drill, which the Venezuelan government said it had authorized as an evacuation drill for possible medical emergencies or disasters, included two MV-22B Osprey aircraft that landed near the U.S. embassy and vessels that entered Venezuelan waters in the Caribbean Sea.

The U.S. embassy said in a statement it remained "committed to ensuring the implementation" of U.S. President Donald Trump's three-phase plan, "particularly the stabilization of Venezuela."

Francis Donovan, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Americas, flew on one of the Osprey aircraft into Caracas, where he met with interim government officials.

The Trump Administration has backed the government of Delcy Rodriguez, formerly Maduro's vice president, which has passed laws to open up Venezuela's vast oil reserves and mining resources to the U.S.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina ⁠Machado spoke to hundreds of Venezuelan emigrants at a rally in Panama City on Saturday, pledging to continue organizing the movement.

"The moment when I will return to our country is getting closer," she said. "What is coming ⁠is big, what is coming is going to be massive."

The Nobel Prize laureate, who has sought to court Trump's favor, has spoken to supporters and leaders from across the world since ⁠she fled Venezuela last December after months of living in hiding.

Her opposition movement is widely seen as the legitimate winner of the 2024 election that Maduro was accused of rigging.

Source: Reuters



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