His visit to Caracas to meet with interim president Delcy Rodríguez on February 18, 2026, marks the first time a Southern Command chief has visited in the 21st century. This milestone highlights a background characterized by special operations and a pre-existing anticipation of shifts in strategy.
Written by: La Tabla / Data Journalism Platform 19 FEB 2026
Here are the key facts defining General Francis L. Donovan, the commander of Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), who has just made a historic turn in hemispheric relations:
1. The third Marine in command: Donovan is the third Marine Corps officer to lead Southern Command. Preceding him were General Charles E. Wilhelm (1997-2000), who dealt with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, and General Peter Pace (2000-2001), who later became the first Marine to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
2. Rapid ascent and dual appointment: When nominated in December 2025, Donovan held the rank of Lieutenant General (three stars), but the commander of SOUTHCOM requires a General (four stars) rank. The solution was an unusual process: he was nominated and promoted simultaneously. The paperwork reached the Senate a day before the public announcement, on December 18, 2025.
3. Special operations expert: His career has been built in elite circles: he has served in MARSOC (Marine Special Operations Command), JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command), and SOCOM (U.S. Special Operations Command), where he was Deputy Commander from December 2022 until his nomination.
4. Naval Academy graduate in 1988: He graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis and has accumulated 37 years of service in the Marine Corps.
5. Controversial appointment: His nomination, announced by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on December 19, 2025, disregarded the succession line at Southern Command. Just a week before, on December 12, Lieutenant General Evan Pettus had officially taken over as interim commander. Donovan replaced him without mentioning his name in the announcement, a gesture seen as an institutional rebuff.
6. South American tour before Caracas: Between January and February 2026, Donovan met wth Presidents Javier Milei (Argentina), Santiago Peña (Paraguay), and Gustavo Petro (Colombia) before finalizing his visit to Venezuela.
7. The first meeting of the 21st century with a Venezuelan head of state: On February 18, 2026, Donovan sat in Caracas with interim president Delcy Rodríguez and ministers Vladimir Padrino López (Defense) and Diosdado Cabello (Interior). The last time a commander from SOUTHCOM held such a high-level meeting in Venezuela was in 1999 with Hugo Chávez.
8. The symbolism of the date: His visit to Venezuela occurs in the first year of the second quarter of the 21st century, closing a 26-year gap without high-level meetings between Southern Command and a Venezuelan leader in Caracas.
9. Controlled visual narrative: Unlike the leaked CIA photos in January (which aimed to showcase the Venezuelan delegation), during his visit, Southern Command published images showing Donovan, but none included his Venezuelan counterparts. This narrative-control strategy, according to analysts, seeks to neutralize rather than expose.
10. A profile for changing times: With experience in high-complexity scenarios and a appointment that broke institutional molds, Donovan arrives at Southern Command at a time of hemispheric reconfiguration. His visit to Venezuela is not an isolated event but the visible piece of an agenda that includes Trump’s “three-phase plan” and the declared goal of “redirecting Venezuela toward the U.S.”
His passage through Caracas will be recorded as the first chapter of a new bilateral relationship. And his profile, crafted in the shadows of special operations, suggests that forthcoming moves may also occur far from the spotlight.