Overview
- Two MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft landed near the U.S. embassy in Caracas on May 23, and Marines disembarked as part of a rapid-response evacuation drill.
- The U.S. embassy said the exercise was meant to keep rapid-response capability ready and help implement President Trump's three-phase stabilization plan for Venezuela.
- Venezuelan officials said they authorized the drill as preparation for medical or catastrophic emergencies, and naval vessels also entered Venezuelan waters during the operation.
- Some residents gathered to watch the aircraft while a few dozen people staged protests, reflecting public unease and heightened uncertainty in the capital.
- The May 23 exercise was the first U.S. military deployment in Venezuela since the Jan. 3 operation that captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife and it underlines how fragile diplomatic normalization remains.