U.S. Marines Conduct Rapid Response Exercise Over Caracas After Maduro’s Ouster

The U.S. military carried out a rapid response exercise in Caracas, Venezuela on Saturday, more than four months after the ouster of then-President Nicolás Maduro.

“Venezuela said Thursday it had authorized the United States to perform a flyover of Caracas as part of an embassy evacuation drill -- a highly symbolic move five months after US airstrikes on the city”

Asharq Al-Awsat English

Two Marine Corps Osprey aircraft flew over the recently reopened U.S. Embassy in Caracas, landed in the embassy’s parking lot, and the downdraft blew tree branches as forces descended from the aircraft.

Asharq Al-Awsat English

The U.S. Embassy said on Instagram that “Ensuring the military's rapid response capability is a key component of mission readiness, both here in Venezuela and around the world,” while Foreign Minister Yván Gil said the drill was for “in the event of medical emergencies or catastrophic emergencies.”

The exercise took place after the U.S. reopened its embassy in Caracas following the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Venezuela after Maduro’s ouster in early January, and Marine Gen. Francis Donovan was present to observe the drill.

The Ospreys’ squadron markings identified them as belonging to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, which is currently deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima in the Caribbean Ocean.

Caracas residents gathered near the embassy to watch the aircraft, while a few dozen others gathered elsewhere in the city to protest the Saturday exercise.

Protesters held a Venezuelan flag with the message “No to the Yankee drill,” and Evelyn Rebolledo, 57, an administrator living in the capital, said, “A foreign country flying over the city itself, this is new to us and more so coming from the United States, given the current situation and all the turmoil in the country.”

Devdiscourse

The drill also followed the last U.S. military aircraft presence over Caracas on Jan. 3, when elite forces rappelled down from helicopters and captured Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

The Straits Times reported that Venezuelan authorities said the Jan. 3 attack killed at least 100 people, and it described the drill as the first military exercise in the South American nation since that capture.

The U.S. Embassy said it remained committed to President Donald Trump’s three-phase plan, “particularly the stabilization of Venezuela,” and the Straits Times framed residents as feeling “on guard” and uncertain.

The Saturday drill unfolded against the backdrop of the Jan. 3 operation in Caracas that captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, and both were taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

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El Mundo

The U.S. Embassy said it remained committed to implementing President Donald Trump’s three-phase plan, and it described the exercise as part of preparing for potential medical or catastrophic emergencies.

Devdiscourse reported that the U.S. military drill was the first military exercise in Venezuela since U.S. troops attacked the capital and captured Maduro and his wife on January 3, and it said Venezuelan authorities put the death toll from that attack at least 100 people.

The U.S. Embassy also said Francis Donovan, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, was present in Caracas, and PBS reported that Donovan met on Saturday with senior Venezuelan officials and embassy staff.

As part of the diplomatic shift after Maduro’s ouster, the exercise was publicly authorized by Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil, who said the U.S. had been authorized to perform a flyover and land at the embassy facilities as an evacuation drill on Saturday, May 23.