On May 23 in Caracas, Venezuela, an evacuation drill was conducted at the US Embassy. The exercise involved two helicopters carrying US military personnel, as well as ambulances, firefighters, and other security teams.<\/span><\/p>\n The aircraft<\/span> were tasked<\/span><\/a> with \u201ctransporting troops, equipment, and supplies from ships and land bases for combat assaults and support,\u201d according to the US Navy\u2019s Naval Air Systems Command.<\/span><\/p>\n The exercise took on great significance for both countries. In fact, the head of US Southern Command himself,<\/span> General Francis Donovan, oversaw the military exercises<\/span><\/a> in Caracas. Additionally, during his stay, he held important meetings with the Venezuelan government and with US embassy staff.<\/span><\/p>\n The government of Delcy Rodr\u00edguez reported<\/span><\/a> that it authorized the US teams to conduct the drill in accordance with \u201cstandard diplomatic security and protection protocols.\u201d The Venezuelan government also reported that the evacuation drills were carried out in coordination with Venezuelan aviation authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n Clearly, the situation is quite different from the days leading up to January 3, 2026, when US troops invaded Venezuelan territory and took then-President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, prisoner, who were later transferred to New York, where they are <\/span>currently being held<\/span><\/a>. The operation, according to Venezuelan estimates, resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people, including several Venezuelans and Cubans.<\/span><\/p>\n Following the January 3 attack, a new relationship was established between Washington and the new government, led by acting President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, who has reached a series of political and economic agreements with the Trump administration, which now include security exercises on Venezuelan soil by US Marines.<\/span><\/p>\n The situation, however, highlighted certain tensions between the diplomatic and political stance of the Rodr\u00edguez administration \u2013 a member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela \u2013 and several members of the same political organization.<\/span><\/p>\n In fact,<\/span> a protest was held<\/span><\/a> in Caracas by groups of Chavistas who rejected the US military exercises, viewing them as a clear form of interference in Venezuela.<\/span><\/p>\n The protesters chanted<\/span><\/a> \u201cNo to the drill!\u201d, \u201cWe don\u2019t want to be a US colony,\u201d and \u201cYankee go home!\u201d while waving Venezuelan flags in a central square of the Venezuelan capital, while elsewhere, the sound of aircraft conducting the evacuation exercise could be heard.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cToday we are protesting because this pretense of mutual aid they want for disasters in Venezuela is just another example of their manipulation, of their interference in a free and sovereign country,\u201d<\/span> Mariela Machado, a leader of the Movement of Residents, told EFE<\/em><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n In addition,<\/span> Machado said<\/span><\/a>: \u201cToday we are telling ordinary Venezuelans that this is a dignified people, that we are pursuing a policy of diplomacy, but let them make no mistake \u2013 it won\u2019t be that easy for them. If there is no oil for us, there won\u2019t be any for them either. We will all die, comrades.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Another demonstrator,<\/span> V\u00edctor Romero, told the press<\/span><\/a>: \u201cThe [US] exercise is nothing short of a provocation against the Venezuelan people. We are upset by the interference of the United States government.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n And while Romero reiterated his support for Delcy Rodr\u00edguez and her approach to diplomacy,<\/span> he also acknowledged<\/span><\/a> that there is a form of \u201ccoercion and threat\u201d against the Venezuelan government by Washington that is forcing it to comply with decisions from the North.<\/span><\/p>\n The post US Army drills in Venezuela met with protests<\/a> appeared first on Peoples Dispatch<\/a>.<\/p>\r\nRejection by Chavista supporters<\/b><\/h3>\n
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On May 23, the US Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, conducted an evacuation drill involving helicopters, military personnel, ambulances, and firefighters, overseen by General Francis Donovan of US Southern Command. The Venezuelan government, led by Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, authorized the exercise, asserting it followed diplomatic security protocols. The drill, however, sparked protests from Chavista supporters, who rejected US military involvement, viewing it as interference. Demonstrators chanted slogans against the US presence and expressed grievances over coercion in Venezuelan politics. Despite new cooperation between the US and Venezuela post-2026, tensions remain within the ruling party regarding foreign influence.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[ad_1] On May 23 in Caracas, Venezuela, an evacuation drill was conducted at the US Embassy. The exercise involved two helicopters carrying US military personnel, as well as ambulances, firefighters, and other security teams. The aircraft were tasked with \u201ctransporting troops, equipment, and supplies from ships and land bases for combat assaults and support,\u201d according to the US Navy\u2019s Naval…","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wokeantifa.org\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wokeantifa.org\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wokeantifa.org\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wokeantifa.org\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wokeantifa.org\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wokeantifa.org\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2852\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wokeantifa.org\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wokeantifa.org\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wokeantifa.org\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}