U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Visits Venezuela

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine visited Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday for the first time — five months after the arrest of Nicolás Maduro.

In an official readout from the office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Public Affairs, spokesperson Joe Holstead detailed that Gen. Caine held bilateral discussions with senior officials of Venezuela’s interim government and U.S. embassy leadership and staff. Caine also visited the U.S. embassy’s Marine Security Augmentation Unit.

“Gen. Caine emphasized the importance of Venezuelan stability, shared security across the Western Hemisphere, and the Joint Force’s commitment to ensuring the implementation of President Donald Trump’s three-phase plan,” the statement read. “The United States is committed to a stable, prosperous, and democratic Venezuela aligned with the United States.”

Gen. Caine’s visit occurs exactly five months after U.S. forces arrested socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro in a law enforcement operation at the Venezuelan capital authorized by President Trump.

Following Maduro’s arrest, the Venezuelan socialist regime, now under the leadership of “acting President” Delcy Rodríguez, began collaborating with the United States as the Trump administration moves forward with President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s three-phase plan toward restoring democracy in Venezuela — a nation that held deep friendly and commercial ties with America before the rise to power of late socialist dictator Hugo Chavez and Maduro, his handpicked successor.

At press time, Gen. Caine’s trip to Caracas marks the latest on a growing list of official visits by high-ranking U.S. government officials to Caracas and meetings with Rodríguez and officials of the socialist regime. Venezuela and the United States formally restored diplomatic ties in March, ending a seven-year rupture unilaterally caused by Maduro in 2019.

The visit also occurs days after U.S. military forces conducted an unprecedented rapid response drill in Caracas in late May. U.S. Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) leader, Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, visited the Venezuelan capital city for the second time to observe the military activity.

Gen. Caine did not meet with Rodríguez, as the “acting president” departed for New Delhi on Wednesday to deepen cooperation with the Asian nation. Caine and his delegation were received by Oliver Blanco, who is the deputy foreign minister for Europe and North America.

Blanco detailed that Gen. Caine met with Venezuelan authorities to “address matters of common interest in security and to strengthen bilateral cooperation mechanisms for the mutual benefit of our countries.”

Indian President Narendra Modi met with Rodríguez on Thursday. According to the left-wing propaganda network Telesur, Rodríguez and Modi’s encounter was mostly focused on reviewing mutual cooperation, particularly in hydrocarbons.

Thanks to the ongoing collaboration with the United States, Venezuela reportedly became the second most prolific supplier of oil to India in May, selling 427,000 barrels per day. India, a nation that imports roughly 90 percent of its oil, began purchasing oil directly from Venezuela in recent months. Venezuela appears to be cutting into the share of the Indian market that was once Iran’s, as India has experienced significant disruptions due to Iran’s threats to commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.