The general Francis L. Donovan, commander of the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), made his second official visit to Caracas yesterday as part of the implementation of President Donald Trump's three-phase plan for Venezuela, a significant strategic signal for Cuba and other regime allies in the region.
According to the official announcement from SOUTHCOM on X, Donovan held bilateral discussions with senior leaders of the Venezuelan interim government, met with staff from the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, and observed a joint military response exercise.
The general and a contingent of U.S. military personnel were transported to the Venezuelan capital aboard two MV-22B Osprey aircraft from the Marine Corps, which were part of the exercise itself.
SOUTHCOM reaffirmed its commitment to the presidential plan
"We remain committed to ensuring the implementation of the president's three-phase plan, particularly the stabilization of Venezuela, and to the importance of shared security in the Western Hemisphere," the statement notes.
The organization also emphasized that "the United States is committed to a free, secure, and prosperous Venezuela for the Venezuelan people, for the United States, and for the Western Hemisphere."
This was Donovan's second visit to Caracas. The first took place on February 18, when the general met with interim Venezuelan authorities to assess the security environment, marking the first visit by a commander of SOUTHCOM to Venezuelan territory in decades.
The three-phase plan articulated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio includes: stabilization and internal security, economic recovery with an emphasis on the oil sector and infrastructure, and a political transition towards free elections.
The visit coincided with a evacuation drill for the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, authorized by the Venezuelan government and coordinated with the Venezuelan Red Cross and the country's aviation authorities, where the Ospreys also participated.
Since March 2026, bilateral cooperation has intensified: the Secretary of the Interior of the U.S. traveled to Venezuela to promote the economic recovery plan, and in May both parties made progress on cooperation plans in electricity, transportation, and infrastructure.
Direct consequences of these movements for Cuba
The recent movements by the United States in Caracas could have profound implications for Cuba, both politically and strategically.
The public presence of Southern Command, the meetings with Venezuelan authorities, and the direct reference to the “three-phase plan” advocated by Donald Trump send a clear signal that Washington is willing to actively engage in regional stabilization processes when it believes its hemispheric interests are at stake.
For Havana, this represents a significant change compared to previous years, as Venezuela had been for decades the main political, economic, and energy ally of the Cuban regime.
Furthermore, the military and diplomatic rapprochement between Washington and Caracas could further weaken Cuba's capacity to influence the region.
Cooperation on security, migration, drug trafficking, and energy opens a new scenario where the U.S. seeks to strengthen allied governments and reduce the presence of adversarial actors in Latin America.
In Cuban opposition sectors, these movements are seen as a demonstration of strategic pressure on the historical allies of Castroism and as a signal that U.S. policy towards the region has entered a much more active and direct phase.
Experts warn that the cooling relationship between Cuba and Venezuela presents one of the greatest structural risks to the Cuban dictatorship, which for decades has relied on Caracas's energy subsidy to sustain its economy and control apparatus.
Filed under: