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The Venezuelan government led by Delcy Rodríguez authorized this Thursday for the United States Embassy in Caracas to conduct a simulated evacuation on Saturday, with two aircraft flying over the capital and landing at the U.S. diplomatic facilities.
Chancellor Yván Gil released the official statement, which was broadcast by Globovisión and circulated widely on social media. The exercise, described as part of "regular protocols for security and diplomatic protection," will take place on May 23 in anticipation of potential medical situations or catastrophic contingencies.
According to the official statement from the Venezuelan government, "two aircraft will conduct controlled overflights over the city of Caracas and will carry out landing operations at the facilities of the Embassy of the United States of America in Caracas."
The activity will be coordinated with the Venezuelan aviation authorities and will involve the participation of the Venezuelan Red Cross in the evacuation and emergency response components.
The image of American planes flying over Caracas with official authorization carries a symbolic weight that is hard to ignore: just four months ago, on January 3, 2026, United States forces carried out the so-called "Operation Absolute Resolution" and captured Nicolás Maduro on Venezuelan soil.
After that operation, Rodríguez took on the acting presidency, and the Venezuelan government began a rapid turn towards Washington.
On March 5, both countries formally announced the resumption of diplomatic and consular relations, which had been severed since 2019.
The U.S. embassy in Caracas, closed for nearly seven years, was gradually reopened with Laura Dogu as the chargé d'affaires starting January 31, 2026.
On April 1, the United States removed Delcy Rodríguez from its sanctions list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
On April 30, American Airlines inaugurated direct flights from Miami to Caracas after nearly seven years of suspension.
On May 17th, Venezuela delivered Alex Saab to the United States, marking another indication of the depth of the bilateral shift.
The Venezuelan statement specifies that "all the arrangements related to this activity have been channeled through the Directorate of Protocol, Immunities, and Privileges of the Ministry of Popular Power for Foreign Affairs," emphasizing the formal and agreed-upon nature of the exercise.
This is the first time since Maduro's capture that U.S. aircraft will fly over the Venezuelan capital with explicit authorization from the Caracas government, a development that solidifies the new political order in Venezuela and underscores the magnitude of the change in relations between the two countries.
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