US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has instructed U.S. officials to reopen Venezuela’s commercial airspace, a major step toward easing travel restrictions and potentially allowing American citizens to visit the South American country again. Trump said he informed Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez of the decision and directed U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and top military leaders to implement the reopening by the end of the day.
Speaking from the White House, Trump told reporters that “American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they’ll be safe there,” signalling a shift in U.S. policy after years of diplomatic rupture. Venezuela’s government had not immediately responded to the announcement.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration notified Congress of initial steps to possibly reopen the long‑closed U.S. Embassy in Caracas, part of efforts to restore diplomatic ties following a controversial U.S. military operation that ousted former President Nicolás Maduro. The State Department said in letters dated Monday that it plans a phased approach to gradually resume embassy operations with a growing number of temporary staff conducting select diplomatic functions.
Diplomatic relations between Washington and Caracas collapsed in 2019, as the U.S. government raised its travel advisory for Venezuela to the highest “Do not travel” level, citing risks of wrongful detention, torture and kidnapping for U.S. citizens. The State Department still maintains that warning, and has not confirmed any changes in its advisory despite Trump’s airspace announcement.
In November, Trump had escalated tensions by declaring that the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela should be considered closed, prompting the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to alert pilots about increased military activity in the region and leading major airlines to cancel flights.
The move to reopen Venezuelan airspace comes as American carriers eye resuming services that have been suspended for years, marking a potential revival in commercial links between the two nations.