Trump: Commercial Flights to Venezuela Will Resume

President Trump said Thursday he has informed Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, that he will reopen the country's commercial airspace and that Americans will soon be able to visit. Trump said he instructed his Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and the US military to take steps to open the airspace for travel by the end of the day, the AP reports. "American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they'll be safe there," the president said. While the State Department still has its "Do not travel" advisory in effect for Americans about trips to Venezuela, at least one airline announced its intention to resume direct flights between the countries soon.

American Airlines was the last US airline flying to Venezuela when in 2019 it suspended flights between Miami and the capital, Caracas, as well as the oil hub city of Maracaibo. The airline said Thursday it will work with federal authorities on security assessments and necessary permissions over the coming months. "We have a more than 30-year history connecting Venezolanos to the US, and we are ready to renew that incredible relationship," said an airline statement. Before Venezuela came undone in the mid-2010s, it was not uncommon for Venezuelans to take weekend leisure trips to Miami.

US airlines stopped flying to Venezuela before the Department of Homeland Security in 2019 ordered an indefinite suspension, arguing that conditions in Venezuela threatened the "safety and security of passengers, aircraft, and crew." Earlier this week, the Trump administration notified Congress that it was taking the first steps toward reopening the shuttered American Embassy in Caracas as it explores restoring relations after the US military raid that ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro. In a notice to lawmakers dated Monday and obtained by the AP, the State Department said it was sending in a regular and growing contingent of temporary staffers to conduct "select" diplomatic functions. Diplomatic relations between the two countries collapsed in 2019.