First US Direct Flight to Venezuela in 7 Years Lands

The first direct commercial flight from the United States to Venezuela in seven years landed Thursday in Caracas, marking a significant step in the restoration of ties between the two nations.

Flight AA3599, operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, departed Miami at 10:16 a.m. local time and arrived in the Venezuelan capital three hours later before returning to Florida that afternoon. The airline announced plans for a second daily flight between the cities starting May 21.

The flight's resumption follows the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro during a nighttime raid on his Caracas residence in early January. Maduro now faces drug trafficking charges in New York, which he denies. He was replaced by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, under whom the U.S. restored full diplomatic relations and reopened its embassy in Caracas about a month ago.

In late January, U.S. President Donald Trump stated he had informed Rodríguez that commercial airspace over Venezuela would reopen. "American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they'll be safe there," Trump said.

Direct nonstop flights had been suspended since 2019, when diplomatic...