US military fighter jets sit on the tarmac at José Aponte de la Torre Airport, formerly Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, on January 3, 2026. (Photo: AFP)
January 3, 2026
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States (US) Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday notified commercial airlines to avoid Caribbean airspace, citing a “potentially hazardous situation” amid US military operations to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The notice said the closure was issued due to “safety-of-flight risks associated with ongoing military activity”.
Maduro was captured on Saturday by US forces in a “large scale strike” on the South American country, US President Donald Trump revealed earlier.
READ: Trump says Maduro ‘captured and flown out’ of Venezuela
The action followed months of steadily mounting US military and economic pressure on leftist leader Maduro and his country’s oil-export-dependent economy, and came two days after Maduro attempted to engage with Trump, offering cooperation on fighting drug trafficking and illegal migration.