Portugal’s TAP, Colombia’s Avianca and Brazil’s Gol canceled flights from Caracas international airport on Saturday. Spain’s Iberia did allow a plane to depart from Simón Bolívar Maiquetía international airport on Saturday, but has canceled all flights to Venezuela until further notice.
‘Be extra careful when flying over Venezuela,’ warns the US aviation authority
US forces including large naval vessels are operating in the Caribbean Sea as they say they are hunting drug smugglers. The US government says it is at war with drug criminals and holds Venezuela responsible for drug smuggling to the US. Caracas Airport is located on the Caribbean Sea, approximately 10 kilometers from Caracas.
Maduro’s regime
According to observers, the large military presence in the southern Caribbean Sea is mainly motivated by Washington’s desire to overthrow the regime of President Nicolás Maduro. The US does not recognize him as head of state, but considers him a fugitive drug lord. The Reuters news agency reports that anonymous US officials said the Trump administration plans to begin “a new phase of operations related to Venezuela” in the coming days.