The US military conducted an exercise over the city of Caracas on Saturday, its first military exercise in Venezuela since US troops stormed the capital and captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3.
Venezuelan authorities say at least 100 people died in that attack earlier this year.
The exercise, which the Venezuelan government said it had authorized as an evacuation drill for possible medical emergencies or disasters, included two MV-22B Osprey aircraft landing near the US embassy and ships entering Venezuelan territorial waters in the Caribbean Sea.
🇺🇸🇻🇪 Post-Maduro Venezuela no longer opposes the United States.
Two MV-88B Ospreys conducted a military exercise at the US embassy in Caracas and landed on the parking lot.
Le gouvernement vénézuélien authorized la tenue de ces exercices qui ont vu d'ailleurs… pic.twitter.com/GR5WPMNHDE
— Louis Duclos (@ObsDelphi) May 24, 2026
The US embassy said in a statement that it remains “committed to ensuring the implementation” of President Donald Trump's three-phase plan, “particularly the stabilization of Venezuela.”
Francis Donovan, commander of the US Southern Command, which oversees US military operations in the Americas, flew one of the Osprey aircraft to Caracas, where he met with interim government officials.
“Something like this keeps us on our toes,” said Evelyn Rebolledo, 57, an administrator who lives in the capital.
“A foreign country flying over the city itself, that's something new for us, and even more so coming from the United States, given the current situation and all the commotion in the country. It leaves us in a state of uncertainty.”
The Trump administration supports the government of Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro's former vice president, who passed laws to open up Venezuela's vast oil reserves and mining resources to the US.
