Q24N (EFE)—The suspension of flights to Venezuela, in response to the U.S. alert urging “extreme caution” when flying over the country, heightened tensions in the region on Sunday, with the number of airlines taking this decision rising to seven. This comes as the Trump administration maintains a military presence in the Caribbean.
Latam Airlines, the largest airline in Latin America, confirmed the cancellation of flights scheduled for today and tomorrow, Monday, from Bogotá to Caracas after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an international advisory last Friday urging “extreme caution” when flying over Venezuela and the southern Caribbean Sea.
“For Latam Airlines Colombia, the safety of its passengers and crews is the priority. For this reason, the airline decided to preemptively cancel flights on the Bogotá-Caracas-Bogotá route on November 23 and 24,” the company stated in a press release.
Latam added that it “will continue to monitor the situation daily to keep its passengers informed.”
Another airline that took the U.S. alert into account was Turkish Airlines, one of the ten largest in the world, which canceled its scheduled flights to Caracas between November 24 and 28, according to Marisela de Loaiza, president of the Venezuelan Association of Airlines (ALAV).
The Turkish company’s decision was also confirmed by a customer service agent, who stated: “Some flights were canceled between these dates (November 24 and 28), but not all,” although she did not specify the days.
This Saturday, Iberia (Spain), TAP (Portugal), Gol (Brazil), and Avianca (Colombia) were the first airlines to announce the cancellation of their flights.
Also, last September, Caribbean Airlines (Trinidad and Tobago-Jamaica) announced the temporary suspension of its flight operations between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. Others are operating normally
Despite the uproar caused by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s decision, the airlines Rutaca, Laser, Estelar, and Venezolana de Aviación announced today that they are operating normally in Venezuela.
The airlines, all Venezuelan, reported this in statements shared on their Instagram accounts, where they also provided phone numbers and other communication channels available to their customers.
Rutaca flies to Cuba and Trinidad and Tobago; Venezolana de Aviación operates a flight to Panama; Laser offers routes to Spain and Curaçao, while Estelar flies to both the Central American and European countries.
On Saturday, the Venezuelan airline Avior also announced that it will maintain its domestic and international flights, while the Colombian airline Wingo indicated that its operations are proceeding normally.
What’s happening in the Caribbean?
The flight cancellations coincide with the military deployment ordered last August by Trump in the Caribbean Sea with the aim of combating drug trafficking.
However, the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro interprets this move as a “threat” of “invasion” and an attempt to bring about “regime change” in the South American country.
In this regard, the former Director General of Civil Aviation of Trinidad and Tobago, Ramesh Lutchmedia, stated this Sunday that the FAA’s decision does not imply an “imminent conflict” and that the advisory is merely a recommendation for US airlines to exercise caution and inform the FAA about their planned flight routes.
Despite this, The Washington Post reported today that the White House recently proposed a plan to drop leaflets from US military aircraft over Caracas to further pressure Maduro.
According to the US media outlet, the leaflets would contain information about the $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, which the White House announced in August, when it doubled the amount, arguing that the president is involved in “narco-terrorism.”
Specifically, the United States State Department will designate the Cartel of the Suns tomorrow, Monday, an organization about which very little is known and which Washington links to the top brass of the Venezuelan Army and Government, as a foreign terrorist group (FTO), which will undoubtedly add to the tension surrounding what is happening in the Caribbean.