Top US military chief visits Venezuela for the first time
The interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, is in India, but General Dan Caine met with other senior government leaders
The top military chief of the United States arrived in Caracas this Wednesday on his first official visit to Venezuela to meet with senior leaders of the Venezuelan interim government five months after the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
The visit of the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, occurs in the absence of the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, who is on an official trip to India.
Caine “participated in bilateral conversations with senior leaders of the interim government,” in addition to visiting “the Embassy's Marine Corps Security Reinforcement Unit,” General Staff spokesman Joe Holstead reported in a statement, without giving further details.
Before this senior military position, the head of the Southern Command, General Francis Donovan, visited Venezuela twice after the capture of Maduro on January 3 during an incursion by US forces, which included bombings in the Venezuelan capital and surrounding areas.
Donovan's last trip to the Caribbean country was on May 23 during a military response activity with two aircraft at the United States embassy in Caracas. The head of the Southern Command arrived aboard one of them.
The trips of senior US officials occur amid the restoration of relations between Caracas and Washington on March 5, broken for seven years by Maduro.
Protest in front of the US Embassy in Caracas
After the overthrow of the leftist, US President Donald Trump said he was in charge of the oil country and the sale of crude oil.
Rodríguez, who governs under strong pressure from the United States, has promoted reforms in hydrocarbon and mining laws favorable to foreign investment.
General Caine's trip coincides with a protest earlier in front of the United States Embassy in Caracas to demand the calling of presidential elections, wage demands and the release of political prisoners.
“We thank them for January 3 where they were able to remove the older dictator, but we continue with some people inside the Miraflores palace,” José Belisario, a 63-year-old retiree, told AFP during the demonstration that brought together about 200 people.
In recent months, other marches have also targeted the US embassy. On this occasion, an official from the diplomatic headquarters received a document delivered by the protesters with their demands.
“We simply want democracy to come quickly,” Belisario added.