Six major international airlines halted services to Venezuela on Saturday after the United States issued a notice warning pilots about a potentially hazardous situation in the country’s airspace due to increased military activity.
The suspensions mark one of the most significant disruptions to commercial travel in and out of Venezuela in recent years and highlight rising tensions between Washington and Caracas as the US expands its military presence in the Caribbean.
Spain’s Iberia, Portugal’s TAP, Chile’s LATAM, Colombia’s Avianca, Brazil’s GOL and Caribbean Airlines from Trinidad and Tobago all stopped flights following the alert, according to AFP, which cited Marisela de Loaiza, the president of the Venezuelan Airlines Association. TAP confirmed to Reuters that it cancelled flights scheduled for Saturday and the coming Tuesday, saying the US warning indicated that safety conditions in Venezuelan airspace could not be guaranteed. Iberia said it had suspended flights to Caracas until further notice.
Other carriers are still operating. AFP reported that Panama’s Copa Airlines, Spain’s Air Europa and PlusUltra, Turkish Airlines and Venezuela’s LASER continued services despite the advisory.
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The US notice came as relations between both countries worsen. Washington has deployed troops and the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean as part of a stated anti narcotics campaign. Venezuelan officials have dismissed that justification, accusing the US of attempting to pressure President Nicolas Maduro from power.
US forces have carried out at least twenty one strikes on suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific, operations that have killed at least eighty three people, according to US military statements cited by Reuters and AP.
The campaign escalated after Washington increased its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest or conviction to fifty million dollars. US officials have described him as the leader of the Cartel de los Soles, a claim Venezuela rejects.
President Donald Trump has sent mixed public messages about the prospect of intervention. In an interview with CBS earlier this month, he said he did not believe the US was heading toward war with Venezuela. When asked if Maduro’s time in office was nearing an end, he replied that it was. Days later he suggested the US might open talks with Maduro. When pressed about the possibility of deploying US troops, he said he would not rule it out and that the priority was to take care of Venezuela.
On Friday, the US Federal Aviation Agency urged all flights near Venezuelan airspace to exercise caution. The agency highlighted risks at every altitude, affecting overflights as well as aircraft taking off, landing and parked on the ground.
Commercial airlines commonly respond to FAA warnings about potential conflict areas. Several carriers suspended flights to Ukraine and parts of the Middle East in similar circumstances in recent years.
Relations between Washington and Caracas have been strained since the rise of former President Hugo Chavez in the early 2000s, and the rift deepened after Maduro took office in 2013. Successive US administrations have refused to recognise his presidency, imposed broad economic sanctions and accused his government of corruption, election fraud and human rights abuses.
The Trump administration hardened that stance further this month by designating the Cartel de los Soles a terrorist group and accusing Maduro of leading it. No evidence was made public to support the allegation.
Within the US, conservative foreign policy voices have been urging the White House to topple Maduro’s government. Maduro has repeatedly accused Washington of inventing reasons to justify intervention. Speaking to the Venezuelan outlet Telesur, he warned that no foreign power would impose its will on the country, saying that attempts to break peace would provoke a monumental response.
