Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the head of US Southern Command, visited Venezuela on Wednesday and met with Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez, a visit that came less than two months after the US attacked Venezuela and abducted President Nicolas Maduro.
According to a press release from Rodriguez’s office, during the meeting, both sides “agreed to create a cooperation agenda to combat drug trafficking and migration. It was emphasized that the diplomatic path is crucial for resolving differences and addressing issues of common interest.”
SOUTHCOM said that Donovan had “productive meetings with Venezuelan interim authorities” and was joined by Acting Assistant Secretary of War Joseph Humire and Laura Dogu, the top US diplomat in Venezuela, who took her post at the end of January, part of the Trump administration’s effort to reopen its embassy in Caracas.
The administration is pursuing a policy aimed at controlling Venezuela’s oil trade and increasing its crude exports, and the country has seen a series of visits from US officials in recent weeks to advance this agenda, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who recently toured oil sites with Rodriguez.
Rodriguez has maintained that Maduro is the rightful president of Venezuela and is calling for his release, but she has obliged the US demands regarding Venezuela’s oil, demands that were made under the threat of another attack. According to a report from The Grayzone, a pro-opposition Venezuelan journalist has said that the US Department of Justice has crafted an indictment against Rodriguez to “hold over her head.”
The January 3 US attack on Venezuela killed at least 83 people, including 47 Venezuelan troops, 32 Cuban soldiers, and four civilians. Since the operation, SOUTHCOM has continued its bombing campaign against small boats it claims are running drugs in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
