Airlines that suspended flights to the country following a US warning about heightened security risks in the region’s airspace will lose permission to fly to Venezuela if they do not resume flights.
The Venezuelan Ministry of Transport told the Spanish news agency EFE that the 48-hour period given to international airlines to resume flights expires on Wednesday, 26 November.
The document emphasizes that information about this deadline was brought to the attention of airline representatives at a meeting on November 24, and companies that do not resume flights within this period will be deprived of permission to fly to Venezuela. “Venezuelan authorities have acted in conjunction with the airlines and will take appropriate action,” the statement said.
On November 21, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an advisory urging caution when flying to Venezuela “due to the deteriorating security situation and increased military activity.”
Since then, a number of international airlines, including TAP, LATAM, Avianca, Iberia, Gol and Caribbean Airlines, announced an indefinite suspension of flights to Venezuela.
Activity in the Caribbean
Earlier, US President Donald Trump signed a decree ordering a more active and effective use of the armed forces to fight Latin American drug cartels directly on their territory.
As part of this policy, at the end of August, the United States sent ships and submarines to the shores of Venezuela. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US military is prepared for operations in Venezuela, “including regime change.” In response, President Nicolas Maduro announced the mobilization of 4.5 million militia fighters and declared his full readiness to repel any invasion.
The US Navy’s ongoing actions to intercept and destroy ships off the coast of Venezuela under the pretext of fighting drug trafficking have drawn sharp criticism from the Venezuelan authorities and parts of the international community, which called these actions a violation of international law.
It is reported that the world’s largest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group, sent by the United States under the same pretext of fighting drug trafficking, have already arrived in the Latin American region.