Trump says US to reopen Venezuelan airspace
US President Donald Trump said he informed Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodriguez that he will open all commercial airspace over Venezuela and that US citizens will be able to visit soon.
Trump said on Thursday that he had instructed US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and US military leaders to open airspace by the end of the day.
“American citizens will soon be able to go to Venezuela and be safe there,” the Republican president says.
He added that Venezuelans who have emigrated and want to return or visit their country can now do so.
🚨BREAKING: @POTUS announced that he has ordered his Administration to open all commercial airspace over Venezuela. “American citizens will be able to go to Venezuela very soon and be safe there.” pic.twitter.com/6EO5jFDIV5— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 29, 2026
Earlier this week, Trump’s Republican administration notified Congress that it was taking initial steps to possibly reopen the shuttered U.S. embassy in Venezuela as it explores repairing relations with the South American country following the U.S. military raid that toppled then-president Nicolas Maduro.
In a memo sent to lawmakers on Monday and obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday, the U.S. State Department said it would send a regular and growing number of temporary staff to perform “selected” diplomatic missions.
“We write to notify the committee of the State Department’s intent to implement a phased approach to potentially restart Embassy Caracas operations,” the department wrote in separate but identical letters to 10 House and Senate committees. he said.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries collapsed in 2019, and the US State Department increased its travel advice to the highest level, warning citizens not to travel to Venezuela.
The State Department on Thursday still listed a top-level travel advisory for Venezuela: “Do not travel,” warning that U.S. citizens face risks of unjust detention, torture, kidnapping and more.
Following Maduro’s capture, Rodríguez has now become the direct US negotiator within the Venezuelan government; especially regarding the management of the country’s large oil reserves.
Maduro is imprisoned in New York.
He will be tried for drug crimes.
with DPA
