Marines conduct rapid response exercise at U.S. Embassy in Venezuela's capital

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The U.S. military conducted a rapid response exercise involving Marines and military aircraft in Venezuela's capital on Saturday, more than four months after the ouster of then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Two Marine Corps Osprey aircraft, which have characteristics of both a helicopter and a fixed-wing airplane, flew over the recently reopened U.S. Embassy in Caracas. They landed in the parking lot with the downdraft blowing tree branches. Forces then descended from the aircraft.

"Ensuring the military's rapid response capability is a key component of mission readiness, both here in Venezuela and around the world," the embassy said on Instagram.

Venezuela's government had announced the drill earlier this week. Foreign Minister Yván Gil said the United States would conduct the exercise to prepare "in the event of medical emergencies or catastrophic emergencies."

The drill comes almost two months after the U.S. formally reopened its embassy in Caracas. The reopening followed the restoration of full diplomatic relations with the South American country after Maduro's ouster in early January.

Some Caracas residents gathered near the embassy to watch the aircraft, while a few dozen others gathered elsewhere in the city to protest Saturday's exercise. The protesters held a Venezuelan flag with the message "No to the Yankee drill" written over it.

U.S. military aircraft last flew over Caracas on Jan. 3, when elite forces rappelled down from helicopters and captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Both were taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges. They have pleaded not guilty.

Squadron markings on the Ospreys that landed in the capital Saturday identified them as belonging to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263. The same squadron is currently deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima in the Caribbean Ocean. Maduro and Flores were flown to that warship immediately after their detention.

The head of U.S. military operations in Latin America observed the exercise firsthand. Marine Gen. Francis Donovan, head of the U.S. Southern Command, also met on Saturday with senior Venezuelan officials and embassy staff.

U.S. Southern Command said on X that Donovan arrived in one of the Ospreys for his second official visit to Caracas this year. During a visit in February, Donovan met with Venezuela's defense and interior ministers.