Venezuela has revoked operating permits for six international airlines after they suspended flights to the country following a United States warning of airspace risk, in the latest point of tension between the two countries.<\/p>\n
Last week, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned of a \u201cpotentially hazardous situation\u201d in Venezuelan airspace due to a \u201cworsening security situation and heightened military activity\u201d.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n While Caracas said the FAA had no jurisdiction over its airspace, the decision led some airlines to indefinitely suspend flights to the South American country from November 24 to 28, Marisela de Loaiza, president of the Airlines Association in Venezuela, said.<\/p>\n The action comes amid worsening tensions between the US and Venezuela over President Donald Trump\u2019s battle against what he calls \u2018narco-terrorism\u2019 in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n Since September, the US has carried out at least 21 strikes on vessels it accuses of trafficking drugs, killing at least 83 people. Venezuela has said the strikes amount to murder.<\/p>\n On Wednesday night, Venezuela\u2019s civil aviation authority announced that Spain\u2019s Iberia, Portugal\u2019s TAP, Colombia\u2019s Avianca, Chile\u2019s and Brazil\u2019s LATAM, Brazil\u2019s Gol and Turkish Airlines would have their permits revoked.<\/p>\n The authority said the decision was taken against the carriers for joining \u201cthe actions of state terrorism promoted by the United States government\u201d.<\/p>\n Before the revocation, Venezuela\u2019s government had issued a 48-hour deadline on Monday for airlines to resume their cancelled flights or risk losing their permits.<\/p>\n Airline carrier Iberia had said it plans to restart flights to Venezuela as soon as full safety conditions are met.<\/p>\n At the same time, Avianca announced in a statement on Wednesday its intention to reschedule cancelled flights to the Venezuelan capital by December 5.<\/p>\n But Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel called the decision to revoke permits \u201cdisproportionate\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we have to do is, through our embassy, \u200b\u200bmake the Venezuelan authorities aware that this measure is disproportionate, that we have no intention of cancelling our routes to Venezuela, and that we only did this for security reasons,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s Air Europa and Plus Ultra have also suspended flights to Venezuela, but their permits have not been revoked, with no reason given for the exemption.<\/p>\n Panama\u2019s Copa and its low-cost airline, Wingo, are continuing to operate to Venezuela. Domestic airlines, including the flag-carrier, Conviasa, flying from Venezuela to Colombia, Panama and Cuba are also still in operation.<\/p>\n Since US President Donald Trump\u2019s return to office in January, tensions between his administration and Venezuela\u2019s government have ramped up.<\/p>\n The US has built up a large military presence off the coast of Venezuela \u2013 its most significant military deployment to the Caribbean in decades \u2013 to combat what it claims is the trafficking of drugs.<\/p>\n The Trump administration has frequently claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is behind the drug trade, without providing any evidence to support this.<\/p>\n In August, the US government raised its reward for information leading to Maduro\u2019s arrest from $25m to $50m.<\/p>\n Maduro denies that he is involved in the drug trade.<\/p>\n This week, the US designated the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) a foreign \u201cterrorist\u201d organisation. It also claims the group is headed by Maduro and a senior figure in his government.<\/p>\n Venezuela\u2019s foreign ministry said it \u201ccategorically, firmly and absolutely rejected\u201d the designation, describing it as a \u201cnew and ridiculous lie\u201d.<\/p>\n Moreover, the US has long rejected Maduro\u2019s government, calling his election win last year \u201crigged\u201d. In November 2024, the US recognised Venezuela\u2019s opposition leader, Edmundo Gonzalez, as the country\u2019s rightful president.<\/p>\n The Venezuelan government has suggested that the drug operation in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific is a cover for the US\u2019s real aim of deposing Maduro from government \u2013 something some observers also believe.<\/p>\n Since September, the US has conducted at least 21 strikes on Venezuelan vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, claiming they are drug boats. More than 80 people have been killed, but the Trump administration has provided no evidence for its claims.<\/p>\n Last month, the US military conducted bomber flights up to the coast of Venezuela as part of a training exercise to simulate an attack, and sent the world\u2019s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford, into the region.<\/p>\n However, in recent days, Trump has shown a willingness to hold direct talks.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Trump told reporters on board his presidential plane, Air Force One, that he \u201cmight talk\u201d to Maduro but warned \u201cwe can do things the easy way, that\u2019s fine, and if we have to do it the hard way, that\u2019s fine, too\u201d.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Trump warned that land operations to combat drug trafficking by land could begin \u201cvery soon\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cYou probably noticed that people aren\u2019t wanting to be delivering by sea, and we\u2019ll be starting to stop them by land also,\u201d Trump said in remarks to troops stationed around the globe to mark the US holiday, Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n \u201cThe land is easier, but that\u2019s going to start very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe warned them to stop sending poison to our country,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Venezuela has revoked operating permits for six international airlines after they suspended flights to the country following a United States warning of airspace risk, in the latest point of tension between the two countries. Last week, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned of a \u201cpotentially hazardous situation\u201d in Venezuelan airspace due to a \u201cworsening […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
![\"INTERACTIVE](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/INTERACTIVE-US_ATTACKS_VENEZUELA_VESSELS_NOV25-1764071362.png?quality=80\")
<\/p>\nWhich airlines has Venezuela banned and why?<\/h2>\n
What about other airlines operating in Venezuela?<\/h2>\n
What is behind US-Venezuela tensions?<\/h2>\n
![\"INTERACTIVE](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/INTERACTIVE-US-Venezuela-relations-in-2025-NOVEMBER-23-2025-1764003736.png?quality=80\")
What has Trump said about anti-drug land operations in Venezuela?<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"