Thousands of tourists trapped on holiday islands after Venezuela chaos | World | News

Tourists in Caribbean holiday destinations are reportedly unable to leave after the US closed all airspace around Venezuela amid its strikes on the South American country. US President Donald Trump confirmed the country’s leader and his wife Cilia Flores had been captured by American forces, flown out of the capital Caracas and indicted on “narco-terrorism” charges following a series of air strikes early on Saturday.

Experts believe the forced removal of Maduro represents a dangerous moment for the country, with uncertainty surrounding who will lead the oil-rich nation. It’s also impacted travellers in the region reliant on air travel to get out. The FAA restricted the airspace in the Caribbean and Venezuela ahead of the strikes, throwing travel plans into chaos.

The US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced later on Saturday that the restrictions would be lifted at 12 am ET on Sunday, January 4, allowing commercial flights to resume.

“Airlines are informed, and will update their schedules quickly,” he wrote on X. “Please continue to work with your airline if your flight was affected by the restrictions.”

Tourists across as many as 19 airports were impacted by Saturday’s airspace closure, MailOnline reported yesterday. According to the outlet, the disruption was affecting a number of territories in the region, including Puerto Rico, the US and British Virgin Islands, St Martin, St Lucia, Barbados, Aruba and others, American Airlines said.

A US holidaymaker on St Thomas, a US Virgin Island in the eastern Caribbean, had been set to return to New York with Delta Airlines but said he woke up to a text alert from the carrier telling him the flight had been cancelled.

The tourist, who asked not to be named, used the airline’s support number and was in a 40-minute telephone queue alongside others as they tried to rebook their flights.

In comments published yesterday, he said he was told by a Delta employee that he wouldn’t be getting off the island until Sunday at the earliest.

The traveller told the outlet: “It seems like a pretty drastic move to take the axe to all flights.”

He arrived on the island on December 29 and had been planning to be on a flight to the Big Apple at 5:35pm local time on Sunday, and rebooked on the same flight for today (Sunday).

However, he fears that the after-effects of the disruption may continue.

In a statement late on Saturday, Delta indicated it would restart flights in the area from early Sunday morning but stressed that it may see schedule adjustments due to resources being “repositioned.”

FlightRadar24 data currently shows no flights over the Venezuelan mainland, and travellers are advised to consult their airline.

Carriers were also steering clear of the nearby southern Caribbean airspace due, with American Airlines and Southwest Airlines among those saying they scrapped flights to the Caribbean on Saturday morning due to the safety risks, Business Insider reports.

Yesterday, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advised against all travel to the South American nation and warned British nationals there to shelter.

The Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealed that some 500 Brits were in Venezuela at the time of the US attack.

Starmer added: “There are about 500 [Brits] there in Venezuela and we’re working with the embassy to make sure they are well looked after, safeguarded and get the appropriate advice.”

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the captured Venezuelan president and his wife have been indicted in the Southern District of New York.

The US operation, which began in the early hours of Saturday, followed a months-long pressure campaign by Trump against the Venezuelan leader, including a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America and attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, accused of carrying drugs.

Last week, the CIA was behind a drone strike at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels — the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US began strikes in September.

As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes was 35 and the number of people killed at least 115, according to the Trump administration. Trump said that the US is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and has justified the boat strikes as a necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the US.

Many nations have condemned the killings, and Maduro’s government has always denied any involvement with drug trafficking.

Maduro and the Venezuelan government have denied any involvement in drug trafficking and have said that he would work with the US to help tackle the issue.

Experts broadly agree that Venezuela is a relatively minor player where international drug trafficking is concerned, and Venezuela has claimed that the purpose of today’s attacks is to “take possession of Venezuelan oil and minerals”.