President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he planned on opening up Venezuela’s air space after a discussion on Thursday with the country’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez.
President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he had directed the reopening of commercial airspace over Venezuela, nearly a month after the US military operation to topple Nicolas Maduro.
Speaking during a cabinet meeting, Trump said he had recently spoken with Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, and had informed her of the decision to restore all commercial flights over the country.
He said American citizens would soon be able to travel to Venezuela and assured that they would be safe.
Trump added that he had instructed US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, along with other relevant authorities, including the military, to complete the reopening of Venezuelan airspace by the end of the day.
eek, Trump’s Republican administration notified Congress that it was taking the first steps to possibly reopen the shuttered U.S. Embassy in Venezuela as it explores restoring relations with the South American country following the U.S. military raid that ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro.
The United States has kept Venezuelan airspace closed to commercial flights since the January 3 military operation that captured leftist leader Maduro, who now faces trial on drug and terrorism charges in New York.
Trump also said that major oil companies were “going to Venezuela now, scouting it out and picking their locations.”
Following the fall of Maduro, Venezuela’s Rodriguez quickly signed oil agreements with Trump, who has declared that his administration now controls the sector – the main engine of the Venezuelan economy.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries collapsed in 2019, and the U.S. State Department warned Americans shouldn’t travel to Venezuela, raising its travel advisory to the highest level.
The State Department on Thursday still listed a travel advisory for Venezuela at its highest level, “Do not travel,” warning that Americans face a high risk of wrongful detention, torture, kidnapping and more.
With inputs from agencies
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