The relationship between Washington and Caracas has entered a new phase
En las semanas que siguieron a la captura militar de Nicolás Maduro por parte de Estados Unidos, el general Francis Donovan, jefe del Comando Sur, viajó a Caracas para reunirse con las autoridades interinas venezolanas en torno a la estabilización del país y la cooperación en seguridad. La visita ilustra una paradoja propia de la historia hemisférica: la misma potencia que derrocó a un gobierno debe ahora construir confianza con el que lo reemplaza. Lo que emerge no es una alianza sencilla, sino una relación cargada de gratitud, desconfianza y necesidad mutua.
- La captura de Maduro en enero —ejecutada por el propio comando que Donovan ahora dirige— transformó de golpe décadas de antagonismo entre Washington y Caracas en una incómoda interdependencia.
- Delcy Rodríguez, presidenta interina, ha condenado públicamente la operación militar estadounidense en suelo venezolano, pero al mismo tiempo ha abierto la puerta al diálogo, revelando la fragilidad de su posición.
- Desde septiembre, el Comando Sur ha destruido cerca de treinta embarcaciones y ha matado a más de cien personas en operaciones de interdicción de drogas en el Caribe, una escala de fuerza que pesa sobre cualquier negociación diplomática.
- La delegación estadounidense —que incluyó a la encargada de negocios y al subsecretario de defensa para el hemisferio occidental— presentó el plan de tres fases de la administración Trump como marco para la estabilización regional.
- Venezuela aún no ha revelado el contenido de las reuniones, y la brecha entre el lenguaje diplomático de Washington y la realidad de una nación cuyo presidente fue removido por la fuerza define el terreno incierto que ambos gobiernos deben ahora atravesar.
El general Francis L. Donovan, recién confirmado al frente del Comando Sur de Estados Unidos, llegó el miércoles a Caracas acompañado por la encargada de negocios Laura Dogu y el subsecretario de defensa Joseph Humire. Las reuniones con el gobierno interino venezolano giraron en torno a la cooperación en seguridad y la llamada "estabilización" del país, en el marco del plan de tres fases que impulsa la administración Trump para el hemisferio.
El contexto de la visita es inseparable de lo que la precedió: hace apenas seis semanas, una operación del propio Comando Sur resultó en la captura de Nicolás Maduro, quien enfrenta cargos de narcoterrorismo, tráfico de drogas y violaciones de armamento en Nueva York —cargos que él niega. Esa acción extraordinaria dejó en el poder a Delcy Rodríguez, quien ha criticado abiertamente la intervención militar estadounidense en suelo venezolano, aunque al mismo tiempo ha señalado su disposición a cooperar con Washington.
Esa tensión —entre el rechazo a la forma y la aceptación de sus consecuencias— define la naturaleza del vínculo que ambos gobiernos intentan construir. El Comando Sur también ha intensificado sus operaciones en el Caribe y el Pacífico desde septiembre: aproximadamente treinta embarcaciones destruidas y más de cien personas muertas en operativos contra el narcotráfico, cifras que añaden peso moral y político a cualquier conversación sobre seguridad compartida.
La Embajada estadounidense en Caracas emitió un comunicado reafirmando el compromiso de Washington con una Venezuela "libre, segura y próspera". El gobierno venezolano, en cambio, no ha detallado públicamente lo que se discutió. Lo que sí resulta evidente es que la relación entre ambos países ha entrado en una fase nueva: ya no articulada por la confrontación ideológica del madurismo, sino por el desafío más práctico —y quizás más difícil— de reconstruir un país bajo la sombra de quien lo transformó por la fuerza.
General Francis L. Donovan, the newly confirmed head of U.S. Southern Command, arrived in Caracas on Wednesday to meet with Venezuela's interim government. The visit marked a significant moment in the relationship between Washington and the South American nation—one that has shifted dramatically since January, when a U.S. military operation resulted in the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro.
Donovan, nominated by President Trump in December and confirmed by the Senate earlier this year, came with a delegation that included Laura F. Dogu, the U.S. chargé d'affaires in Venezuela, and Joseph M. Humire, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Western Hemisphere security affairs. The meetings, held in the capital, focused on security cooperation and what U.S. officials described as the "stabilization" of the country. According to a statement from Southern Command, the discussions were "productive" and centered on implementing the Trump administration's three-phase plan for the region, with particular emphasis on Venezuela's stabilization and the importance of shared security across the Western Hemisphere.
The timing of the visit underscores the complexity of the current moment. Maduro, now in U.S. custody and facing charges of narcoterrorism, drug trafficking, and weapons violations in New York—charges he denies—was captured in an operation executed by the very command Donovan now leads. That operation, carried out roughly six weeks before this week's meetings, represented an extraordinary assertion of U.S. military power in the region. Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed the interim presidency following Maduro's detention, has publicly criticized the American military action on Venezuelan soil. Yet she has simultaneously signaled a willingness to work cooperatively with the United States, creating an opening for the kind of dialogue Donovan's visit represents.
Southern Command oversees all U.S. military operations in Latin America, a portfolio that extends well beyond Venezuela. Since September of last year, the command has conducted operations in international waters of the Caribbean and Pacific, targeting vessels that Washington says are engaged in drug trafficking. The scale of these operations has been substantial: approximately thirty ships have been destroyed, and more than one hundred people have been killed in the process. These interdiction efforts form part of the broader security architecture that the Trump administration is seeking to establish across the hemisphere.
The U.S. Embassy in Caracas released its own statement on Wednesday, emphasizing Washington's commitment to supporting "a free, secure, and prosperous Venezuela." The diplomatic language masks a more intricate reality: the United States has just orchestrated the removal of Venezuela's sitting president through military means, and now must navigate a relationship with the government that has replaced him—one that is grateful for the change but wary of American intervention.
Rodríguez's position reflects this tension. She has not endorsed the U.S. military operation, yet she appears willing to engage with American officials on matters of mutual security concern. Whether this cooperation can deepen, and on what terms, remains an open question. The Venezuelan government has not yet publicly detailed what was discussed in the meetings, and CNN's request for comment from Venezuela's Ministry of Communication and Information had not been answered as of publication. What is clear is that the relationship between Washington and Caracas has entered a new phase—one defined less by the ideological opposition of the Maduro era and more by the practical challenges of rebuilding a nation and managing the security interests of two governments that have fundamentally different histories and capabilities.
Citações Notáveis
The meetings focused on security cooperation and implementing Trump's three-phase plan for regional stabilization, with emphasis on shared security across the Western Hemisphere— U.S. Southern Command and Embassy statements
Rodríguez has publicly criticized the American military action on Venezuelan soil but simultaneously signaled willingness to work cooperatively with the United States— Venezuelan interim government position
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does a general visit matter more than a diplomat would?
Because Donovan doesn't just advise on security—he commands the forces that just removed the previous president. His presence signals that this isn't a conversation between equals. It's a conversation between a power that has just acted and a government that has to live with the consequences.
Rodríguez has criticized the operation but wants to cooperate. How does that actually work?
It works because she has no choice and because cooperation serves her interests too. She needs U.S. support to stabilize the country, and the U.S. needs her to be seen as legitimate. The criticism is partly for domestic consumption—she can't appear to be a puppet—but the cooperation is real.
What about those hundred people killed in the drug operations? Does that come up in meetings like this?
Probably not directly. Those deaths happened in international waters, targeting suspected traffickers. From Washington's perspective, it's counternarcotics work. From Venezuela's perspective, it's complicated—some of those vessels may have had Venezuelan crews or connections. But in a meeting about "stabilization," you're not relitigating the operations that got you here.
Is this visit a sign things are normalizing?
It's a sign that both sides are trying to make the new reality work. But normalizing and trusting are different things. Donovan is there because the U.S. wants to shape what comes next in Venezuela. Rodríguez is meeting with him because she needs resources and legitimacy. That's not friendship. That's pragmatism.