{"id":36759,"date":"2026-02-19T12:56:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T04:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/02\/19\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T12:56:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T04:56:00","slug":"top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/02\/19\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"Top US commander makes surprise visit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The top commander overseeing \u200bU.S. forces in Latin America, General Francis Donovan, and senior Pentagon official Joseph Humire \u200bmade a surprise visit to Venezuela on Wednesday \u2060for security talks, U.S. officials said.       The trip is the first by a U.S. military delegation since U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President \u200bNicolas Maduro in an audacious \u200craid last month and whisked him to New York to face drug-trafficking charges. The visit was first reported by Reuters.       Venezuela&#8217;s government said the U.S. military delegation met interim President Delcy \u200bRodriguez, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. The two sides agreed to work together to combat drug-trafficking, terrorism and migration, it added.       Both Padrino and Cabello face indictments related to drug trafficking in the United \u200cStates.       The U.S. military&#8217;s visit \u200cfollows a trip last \u200bweek by U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright to Caracas.       Together, the two trips highlight President Donald<br \/>Trump&#8217;s efforts to use military might and energy policy to push Venezuela to carry out sweeping reforms.              DIPLOMACY THE PREFERRED PATH       Washington has said it will manage Venezuela&#8217;s oil business indefinitely and maintains \u200ba robust naval presence in the Caribbean, where the U.S. military is blowing up suspected drug boats and working with the Coast Guard to seize Venezuela-linked oil tankers.       Venezuela&#8217;s government emphasized diplomacy as the preferred path for ties with Washington, which \u200bwants to see Caracas in the short term cut ties with U.S. adversaries and open itself to U.S. businesses. Venezuela sits on the world\u2019s largest crude oil reserves.       &#8220;The meeting reaffirms that diplomacy should be the mechanism for resolving differences and addressing issues of bilateral and regional interests,&#8221; Venezuela&#8217;s Communications Minister Miguel Angel Perez said in a post on \u200cX.       The U.S. military&#8217;s Southern Command said Donovan and Humire were joined in the talks by Laura<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The top commander overseeing \u200bU.S. forces in Latin America, General Francis Donovan, and senior Pentagon official Joseph Humire \u200bmade a surprise visit to Venezuela on Wednesday \u2060for security talks, U.S. officials said. The trip is the first by a U.S. military delegation since U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President \u200bNicolas Maduro in an audacious \u200craid last [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Top US commander makes surprise visit - Metro Plus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/02\/19\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top US commander makes surprise visit - Metro Plus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The top commander overseeing \u200bU.S. forces in Latin America, General Francis Donovan, and senior Pentagon official Joseph Humire \u200bmade a surprise visit to Venezuela on Wednesday \u2060for security talks, U.S. officials said. The trip is the first by a U.S. military delegation since U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President \u200bNicolas Maduro in an audacious \u200craid last [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/02\/19\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Plus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-19T04:56:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Metro Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Metro Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/19\\\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/19\\\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Metro Admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6bbe2f487494b6f04d542440127c7895\"},\"headline\":\"Top US commander makes surprise visit\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-19T04:56:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/19\\\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":322,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/19\\\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/19\\\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\\\/\",\"name\":\"Top US commander makes surprise visit - Metro Plus\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-19T04:56:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/19\\\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/19\\\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/19\\\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Top US commander makes surprise visit\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/\",\"name\":\"Metro Plus\",\"description\":\"Metro Plus\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Metro Plus\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/cropped-metroplus1044.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/09\\\/cropped-metroplus1044.png\",\"width\":240,\"height\":169,\"caption\":\"Metro Plus\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6bbe2f487494b6f04d542440127c7895\",\"name\":\"Metro Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Metro Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/multimetro.hk\\\/plus\\\/author\\\/metroadmin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Top US commander makes surprise visit - Metro Plus","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/02\/19\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Top US commander makes surprise visit - Metro Plus","og_description":"The top commander overseeing \u200bU.S. forces in Latin America, General Francis Donovan, and senior Pentagon official Joseph Humire \u200bmade a surprise visit to Venezuela on Wednesday \u2060for security talks, U.S. officials said. The trip is the first by a U.S. military delegation since U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President \u200bNicolas Maduro in an audacious \u200craid last [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/02\/19\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\/","og_site_name":"Metro Plus","article_published_time":"2026-02-19T04:56:00+00:00","author":"Metro Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Metro Admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/02\/19\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/02\/19\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\/"},"author":{"name":"Metro Admin","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#\/schema\/person\/6bbe2f487494b6f04d542440127c7895"},"headline":"Top US commander makes surprise visit","datePublished":"2026-02-19T04:56:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/02\/19\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\/"},"wordCount":322,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#organization"},"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/02\/19\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\/","url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/02\/19\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\/","name":"Top US commander makes surprise visit - Metro Plus","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-02-19T04:56:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/02\/19\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/02\/19\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/2026\/02\/19\/top-us-commander-makes-surprise-visit\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Top US commander makes surprise visit"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/","name":"Metro Plus","description":"Metro Plus","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#organization","name":"Metro Plus","url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/cropped-metroplus1044.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/cropped-metroplus1044.png","width":240,"height":169,"caption":"Metro Plus"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/#\/schema\/person\/6bbe2f487494b6f04d542440127c7895","name":"Metro Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/406741887e2b499d9f2b2d4de7792c34f5c1bdcb01722828c2466332139b8510?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Metro Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/author\/metroadmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36759\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/multimetro.hk\/plus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}