Trump raises tensions with Venezuela and airlines take precautions to operate in the country

Caracas. – The President of the United States, Donald Trump, raised tensions with Venezuela this Saturday by warning pilots and airlines to consider Venezuelan airspace “closed”, so international companies operating in the South American country have announced that they are evaluating the situation and taking precautions.

«To all airlines, pilots, drug traffickers, and human traffickers: we request that you consider that the airspace over Venezuela and its surroundings will remain completely closed. Thank you for your attention! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP», reads the message from the president published on his social network Truth, which does not clarify any circumstances related to the closure.

The Venezuelan Government repudiated Trump’s message and criticized that he “unusually” tries to “give orders and threaten the sovereignty” of this nation. In a statement, published by Foreign Minister Yván Gil, Nicolás Maduro’s Executive denounced “before the world” that such statements “represent an explicit threat of the use of force”, which, he assured, is “clearly and unequivocally prohibited” by the United Nations Charter, and considered it an “attempt at intimidation”. Trump posted this message a day after the New York Times reported on an alleged phone conversation he had with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to explore a possible meeting, although this contact has not been officially confirmed or denied by either party. The news of the conversation comes a day after Trump warned that his Armed Forces will act “very soon” on land against alleged “Venezuelan drug traffickers,” while maintaining the naval deployment in the Caribbean.

Airlines evaluate the situation

Maiquetía Simón Bolívar International Airport, the country’s main airport, maintained its operations normally during the day, despite the warning from the US president. The airfield, which serves Caracas, received flights during the day from Barbados, Bogota, Panama, Curacao and Havana, as EFE confirmed on a tour. Also at La Chinita International Airport, located in Maracaibo, the capital of Zulia state (west, bordering Colombia), air operations continued without incident, according to the schedules released by the airlines. Following Trump’s announcement, the Panamanian airline Copa reported that it will continue operating in Venezuela, although it does so “with high levels of alert and caution, only during daylight hours.” Likewise, the Colombian airline Wingo assured that it maintains operations to and from the oil-producing country because, it claimed, they have not received official notification, through formal channels, “about restrictions or closure of Venezuelan airspace.” “We continue to constantly monitor the safety of that airspace, in coordination with local and international authorities, and if conditions change we will immediately adjust our operation,” a company source explained to EFE. For the moment, Copa, Wingo, Boliviana de Aviación and Satena, as well as the local companies Avior and Conviasa (state-owned), maintain their operations in Venezuela.

Flights of migrants suspended

The Venezuelan Government also denounced that with the announcement made by Trump this Saturday, repatriation flights for migrants from US territory have been suspended “unilaterally.” The Chancellery indicated that to date 75 repatriation flights have been made for 13,956 migrants who “have been received with love and absolute solidarity.”

This week, two flights arrived in Venezuela from the United States, despite the fact that on November 21st, the US aviation authority urged to “exercise extreme caution” when flying over Venezuela and the southern Caribbean due to what it considers “a potentially dangerous situation” in the area.

This led to several airlines, such as Iberia, Plus Ultra, Air Europa, Avianca and Turkish Airlines, suspending their flights in the South American country. The Chavista Executive gave them a 48-hour deadline to resume operations and, upon failing to do so, revoked the traffic permits of Iberia, Turkish Airlines, Gol, Avianca, Tap, and Latam Colombia.

“Illegitimate Attack”

As a reaction to the tension between Venezuela and the United States, the Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez, condemned this Saturday the US announcement to close the Venezuelan airspace and considered it the “prelude” to an “illegitimate attack”. Rodríguez added on his social media that Washington’s announcement is an «aggressive act for which no State has authority outside its national borders and should call for the strongest rejection from the international community». Cuba, a historical ally of Venezuela, has warned from the beginning of the tensions that “cannot be legally or morally accepted” what it considers “pretexts” from Washington for a possible military aggression against Venezuela. Likewise, the Government of Nicaragua reaffirmed its support for President Maduro and assured him of its “full and permanent” solidarity.