Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday ordered a government plan to be put in place so that Venezuelan citizens residing abroad can return to the country after Trump’s words declaring Venezuela’s airspace “closed,” the Latin American country’s Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez, said.
“In the face of this aggression, President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the development of a special plan for the return of Venezuelans stranded in other countries, as well as facilitating exit paths for those who must travel outside our territory,” Rodriguez said in a message on his Telegram channel.
Last Saturday, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an alert to airlines to exercise extreme caution in the Venezuelan region, a move that precedes the decision announced on Saturday by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to declare the country’s airspace “completely closed,” which may indicate a possible ground invasion of Venezuela.
In this sense, Rodríguez criticized the decision of the US government – which, in accordance with Venezuelan policy, responded “to the request of Maria (Corina) Machado – and affirmed that the country’s authorities had activated “all the mechanisms” of international law in order to “immediately stop this illegal and illegal act.” He concluded his message by saying: “Venezuela will always prevail!”
Nearly 14,000 Venezuelans from the United States have arrived on Venezuelan territory in recent months under the Vuelta a la Patria plan operation, the last operation just one day before Trump’s announcement. Later, the Maduro-led government denounced the North American country’s “unilateral” suspension of repatriation flights.
Likewise, many airlines around the world have suspended connections with the Latin American country, and the Venezuelan government has canceled the operating permits of several airlines such as Iberia, TAP, Turkish Airlines, Avianca, LATAM Airlines Colombia, and GOL.