Spain’s Air Europa has become the first European airline to resume flights to Venezuela after the coup that led to the capture of President Maduro and the establishment of a US-backed interim government. Washington eased sanctions against Venezuela after this change.
According to the flight monitor, the plane of the Spanish company Air Europa landed in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas on Tuesday. It was the first European commercial flight to land in Venezuela since the United States overthrew President Nicolás Maduro, TASR reports, according to an AFP report.
A number of international carriers stopped flying to the South American country after the United States warned of possible military activity in Venezuela in late November.
Raid on Madura
On January 3, US special forces captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in a military operation in Caracas and flew them to New York, where they are accused of “narco-terrorism”, drug trafficking and weapons possession. The detention was preceded by an intensive US military campaign in the Caribbean Sea aimed at combating drug smuggling from Venezuela.
Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president on January 5. US President Donald Trump announced after Maduro’s arrest that Washington intends to rule Venezuela until further notice. Since then, under American pressure, Rodríguez signed an agreement with the United States on the sale of oil, supported the opening of the oil sector to foreign investors, initiated legislative reforms and announced negotiations with the opposition.
Trump and Venezuelan oil
Washington eased its sanctions against Venezuela last month after Rodriguez’s government passed a law opening the oil sector to private investment. Trump wants major US oil companies to quickly revive the sector and increase production by millions of barrels a day.
