Some Venezuelan airlines have continued to operate international routes normally after the United States unilaterally announced a complete closure of Venezuelan and surrounding airspace on Nov.29.
According to a China Central Television (CCTV) reporter who visited Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, some 20 kilometers from capital Caracas, on Friday, only Venezuelan airlines are still operating international flights to and from the port.
Due to visa-free travel for Venezuelan citizens to Colombia, there is very high demand for flights between the two countries. The restaurants and supermarkets in the waiting area have continued to provide services as usual in the evening, and the entire boarding process was orderly.
The overall occupancy rate is around 70 percent, according to the reporter, after a flight of more than three hours to Colombia.
Venezuela is currently actively expanding its international air routes. Media reported on Dec. 8 that Venezuelan Transport Minister Ramon Celestino Velasquez Araguayan announced that within 10 days Venezuelan airlines will have 33 active international routes, expanding from 17 routes earlier this month.
Some Venezuelan int'l flights operate normally after US announces airspace closure
Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez said on Sunday that the country is at a critical stage and must achieve national unity, emphasizing that maintaining internal cohesion is of utmost importance.
In a televised address, Rodriguez called on the public to continue trusting the government under the current highly complex political circumstances.
Her statement comes in the wake of a January 3 military operation conducted by the United States, during which Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were taken into custody and flown out of the country.
The operation resulted in at least 100 fatalities.
Rodriguez, who was sworn in as acting president two days later on January 5, framed her appeal for unity against this backdrop of external intervention.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan Minister of Communication and Information Freddy Nanez denounced the U.S. actions as a "war crime of the 21st century" when speaking at an international cultural event on Sunday.
Nanez condemned not only the January 3 airstrikes but also the associated cyber and electromagnetic attacks.
He accused the United States of violating international law through the forced removal of President Maduro and his wife, while attacks on civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities, represent a flagrant breach of humanitarian norms.
He reiterated that the stigmatization and military attacks against Venezuela are driven by economic interests, particularly the desire to control its abundant natural resources.
Venezuelan acting president calls for national unity amid complex situation
