The United States on Thursday conducted its first direct commercial flight with Caracas, Venezuela, ending a seven-year interruption and restoring the direct flight route between both countries.
The American Airlines subsidiary Envoy Air flight marked a new chapter in the restored diplomatic ties between the two historically friendly nations following the arrest of socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro in January and the ongoing collaboration of the Venezuelan socialist regime under “acting President” Delcy Rodríguez.
It also marked a new milestone in President Trump’s three-phase plan towards restoring democracy in the South American nation following Maduro’s downfall.
Both U.S. and Venezuelan outlets reported that balloons bearing the Venezuelan flag colors — yellow, blue, and red — adorned festivities at the Miami International Airport celebrating the reopening of the flight route, while red, white, and blue balloons did the same at the Simón Bolívar airport in Maiquetía.
Direct commercial flights to and from Venezuela had been suspended by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in May 2019 in response to a crisis that erupted in Venezuela after Maduro illegitimately clung to power by means of a sham election in 2018. The now-deposed socialist dictator had cut all diplomatic ties with the United States earlier that year after President Donald Trump no longer acknowledged him as the legitimate ruler of Venezuela.
“For nearly seven years there have been no direct commercial flights between the U.S. and Venezuela. Under President Trump we’re changing that today,” the State Department announced. “Flights between Miami and Caracas restored.”
An American Airlines Embraer 175 piloted by Captain Rick Wilson departed from Miami on Thursday morning and landed at Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía roughly three hours later at around 01:16 p.m. (local time), with U.S. National Energy Dominance Council Director Jarrod Agen and U.S. Transportation Undersecretary Ryan McCormack among its passengers. Félix Plasencia, the Venezuelan regime’s top envoy to the U.S., detailed on Friday that he was on board the flight, describing it as a moment that marks “a new stage of constructive relations” between both countries.
The White House noted on social media that resuming U.S.-Venezuela flights would had not been possible without Operation Absolute Resolve, the U.S. law enforcement operation authorized by Trump that led to the arrest of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on January 3.
Speaking at the Simón Bolívar airport on Thursday, John M. Barrett, the new chargé d’affaires of the U.S. embassy in Caracas, said that the flight is a direct result of President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s three-phase plan for Venezuela. Barrett emphasized that under President Trump’s leadership, the U.S. is sending a “clear signal” that Venezuela is once again open for business and detailed that Venezuela is currently in the “recovery” phase of President Trump’s Stabilization, Recovery, and Transition plan for Venezuela.
“By reestablishing the connection between Miami and Caracas, the United States and Venezuela are restoring a vital trade artery that will accelerate investment, rebuild supply chains, and strengthen ties between our people,” Barrett said.
“This is the first of many links that will expand as Venezuela gets back on track to enhance its role as a regional economic and energy power,” he continued. “The United States remains firmly committed to Venezuela’s economic recovery.”
Barrett stressed that President Trump is a “man of action” and that the U.S. is moving at “Trump speed.”
“What the President likes is action. He also likes deals and progress, and we’re seeing all of that unfold in a very short period of time,” Barrett said.
José Freig, Vice President of International Operations, reportedly said that the airline expects to open another flight route to Maracaibo, Venezuela’s second-largest city located at the western state of Zulia.
Per the Venezuelan regime’s main state-owned news channel, VTV, Transport Minister Jacqueline Faría said that they expect to receive over 100,000 passengers per year through the restored flight route.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.