Governments that suspended flights or warned citizens against travelling cite a combination of security concerns, institutional breakdown, and unpredictable diplomatic tensions.

Since early September, the U.S. government has been carrying out airstrikes on vessels it claims are drug-running boats from Venezuela and other Latin American countries, actions that Democrats, legal scholars and human rights groups have criticised as extrajudicial killings.

On Thursday, November 27, Trump again warned that he is prepared to expand those strikes to targets on land.

"The land is easier, but that's going to start very soon," Trump told reporters.

Maduro also accused the U.S. in a televised address in October of openly authorising CIA operations to topple his government, calling the move “unprecedented” in modern history.

“The U.S.  government  has decided to send the CIA to Venezuela,” Maduro said in the televised address reported by Viory. “They want to frighten, divide, and demoralise our people. But our people are clear, united, with millions of eyes and ears. We will defeat this conspiracy again.”

A relationship built on confrontation

Tensions between Trump and Maduro date back to 2017, when the White House imposed sweeping sanctions on Venezuelan officials, state-run oil company PDVSA, and the government’s financial networks in a bid to force democratic reforms.

The sanctions accelerated Venezuela’s economic collapse, restricting its access to global capital markets and worsening shortages of fuel, medicine and basic goods.

By early 2019, the Trump administration recognised opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate interim president, triggering a rupture in diplomatic relations. Caracas expelled U.S. diplomats and accused Washington of orchestrating a coup.

As the political crisis intensified, Venezuela’s aviation system deteriorated further, prompting the U.S. decision to halt all flights that year.

Despite a brief easing of sanctions under President Joe Biden in 2023–24, Washington reinstated many restrictions after disagreements over electoral guarantees.

By the time Trump re-emerged as a central political figure in 2025, the relationship had once again become combustible.

Airlines began withdrawing voluntarily years before official bans, citing unpaid debts, unsafe airport conditions, and rising crime around transit hubs. Carriers from Colombia, Brazil, and several European countries reduced their routes long before the current wave of political restrictions.

Today’s bans come against a backdrop of continued concerns over Venezuela’s regulatory oversight, reports of airport corruption, and frequent nationwide blackouts that disrupt aviation systems. Several governments warn that deteriorating security and infrastructure make travel too risky for citizens or airline crews.

Authorities have charged an Afghan national in connection with Wednesday’s shooting, which has escalated political tensions around national security and migration.

In response, Trump confirmed a newly announced “pause” on immigration from what he called “third-world countries,” saying the administration would conduct a broader review of U.S. entry policies following the attack.

The shooting has sparked widespread grief and renewed debate over security, immigration , and the protection of service members stationed in the capital.