Trump Directs Officials To Reopen Venezuelan Airspace

President Donald Trump told Venezuelan acting leader Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday that he would open the country's commercial airspace and directed U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and military leaders to do so by the end of the day.

The announcement follows a notice to Congress dated Monday in which the State Department said it planned a phased approach to potentially resume operations at Embassy Caracas and comes after a U.S. military raid that ousted Nicolás Maduro, according to the department and letters to 10 House and Senate committees.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rescinded a 2019 order that barred U.S. airlines from flying to Venezuela, saying in his directive that the continued suspension "is no longer required by the public interest," according to his statement.

American Airlines said Thursday it plans to resume services to Venezuela pending government approval and security assessments, Nat Pieper, the airline's chief commercial officer, said in a statement.

The State Department nevertheless maintained its highest-level "Do Not Travel" advisory for Venezuela warning of wrongful detention, torture and kidnapping, reflecting conflicting guidance between the president's comments and official travel warnings, the department said.