Trump says US will reopen Venezuelan airspace, allow Americans to visit
US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that American citizens will soon be able to visit Venezuela, saying he had instructed senior officials to reopen commercial airspace over the South American nation, a dramatic shift in policy following months of heightened tensions.
Speaking at a White House Cabinet meeting, Trump said he had informed Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez that the United States will move to open the country’s commercial airspace by the end of the day.
He added that major US oil companies were expected to begin scouting sites in Venezuela, suggesting economic as well as diplomatic motives behind the decision.
“American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they’ll be safe there,” Trump said, underlining his administration’s assertion that security conditions in the country have improved.
The announcement follows Trump’s declaration in November that the airspace “above and surrounding Venezuela” should be considered closed, a move that prompted several international airlines to suspend flights amid rising militarization and diplomatic strain.
This week, the Trump administration also notified Congress of plans to potentially reopen the shuttered US Embassy in Caracas as part of efforts to restore diplomatic relations.
Letters to lawmakers said temporary staff are being sent to conduct select diplomatic functions, marking a significant step after relations were severed in 2019.
Despite these developments, the US State Department still maintains its highest-level travel advisory for Venezuela, urging Americans not to travel there due to risks including wrongful detention and kidnapping.
Venezuela has been in flux since early January, when US forces captured former President Nicolás Maduro, and Delcy Rodríguez assumed the role of interim president, a transition not universally recognised internationally.
Rodríguez has publicly expressed both calls for cooperation with the United States and fierce rhetoric about national sovereignty, complicating diplomatic efforts.
The move to reopen airspace — even if largely symbolic, given Venezuela’s control over its own skies — signals a potential thaw in relations and a shift toward greater engagement after years of confrontation.
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