Top US military commander visits Venezuela, meets new leader following operation to capture Maduro

The head of the U.S. Southern Command traveled to Venezuela to meet with the country’s acting president just weeks after U.S. forces captured former leader Nicolás Maduro. 

The trip on Wednesday, described as a surprise visit, was the first to Venezuela by a U.S. military delegation since the Jan. 3 raid to retrieve Maduro, according to Reuters. 

"The commander of U.S. Southern Command, Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Chargé d’Affaires to the Venezuela Affairs Unit, Ambassador Laura F.