Conviasa airliner on a runway. The Venezuelan company is illegally sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control. File photo.
Caracas, September 25, 2022 (OrinocoTribune.com)—This Monday the 26th, the first flight between Venezuela and Colombia will be carried out by Turpial Airlines, as announced by Colombian Ambassador Armando Benedetti on his Twitter account this Saturday, September 24. On the day prior, Benedetti announced that Venezuelan state-owned airline Conviasa was not able to fly to Colombia, allegedly due to the illegal US blockade.
The diplomatic authority of Colombia in Venezuela explained that Turpial Airlines received the required authorization from Colombia’s Civil Aeronautics to carry out this route. The debut flight will land in Bogotá after more than three years in which both nations had been separated, due to the decision of former Colombian president Iván Duque to follow, to the letter, the failed US “regime”-change operation against President Nicolás Maduro and the Venezuelan people.
Defense Ministers of Venezuela and Colombia Meet at the Border
In addition, Ambassador Benedetti added that this will be the first of 27 flights scheduled by Turpial Airlines until December 2022. The airline is a privately owned Venezuelan company based in the city of Valencia, in Carabobo state, with a small fleet consisting of three Boeing 737-400 jets.
¡Gran noticia! La aerolínea venezolana Turpial Airlines acaba de recibir autorización de @AerocivilCol para aterrizar en Bogotá el próximo lunes 26 de septiembre, proveniente de Caracas. El primero de 27 vuelos previstos hasta el 30 de diciembre. ¡Falta poco! @InacVzla.
— Armando Benedetti (@AABenedetti) September 25, 2022
This Friday, in a press conference, Benedetti reported that Conviasa was not authorized to fly to Colombia because it is included in the Clinton List of entities that are illegally sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in its failed attempt to oust President Maduro. Allegedly, air service providers in Bogotá risk being subject to fines and penalties if they agree to provide services to the Venezuelan airline.
For the last two weeks, it was news in Venezuela that the airline in charge of leading the reopening of commercial passenger flights between Colombia and Venezuela, on the day the border reopened, would be Conviasa. The airline even posted a schedule on its website, including the price of the tickets.
For many analysts in Caracas, this is new evidence of continued US aggression against Venezuela, but it is also clear sabotage of the decisive position taken by President Gustavo Petro to resume relations with Venezuela at all levels.
An expert on international affairs consulted by Orinoco Tribune stressed that, regarding this issue, “despite illegal and worn-out US sanctions, Conviasa offers regular passenger flights from Caracas to Mexico, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Peru, just to name some countries in Latin America. The government of Petro doesn’t look good by bowing to the clear US attempt to boycott the amazing work done by Bogotá, but also Caracas, to rebuild relations.”
Twelve Crew Members of the EMTRASUR 747 Permitted to leave Argentina
Meanwhile, a Boeing 747-300 belonging to EMTRASUR, a subsidiary of Conviasa, has been grounded in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for more that three months without an apparent reason. In recent weeks, the United States has maneuvered to seize the jumbo jet previously owned by Iran.
@AABenedetti confirma que @LAConviasa no puede volar a Colombia por estar sancionada por la Ofac. Sin embargo dice que ya está la aerolínea sustituta aunque no informó cuál sería. Recordemos que @laserairlines y @aviorairlines estaban en proceso. pic.twitter.com/5mNv8SZQT3
— Ana Rodríguez Brazón (@anarodriguez_b) September 23, 2022
Border reopening
On Friday, September 9, President Nicolás Maduro announced that the Venezuela–Colombia border will open on September 26. He also announced that flights will resume on the Caracas–Bogotá and Valencia–Bogotá routes.
Me alegra mucho anunciar que a partir del #26Sep daremos apertura conjunta a las fronteras entre Venezuela y Colombia. Además, reanudaremos los vuelos entre Caracas – Bogotá y Valencia – Bogotá. El intercambio y la cooperación entre nuestros pueblos, reinician con buen pie. pic.twitter.com/5iTqHbCVY5
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) September 9, 2022
“I am very happy to announce that, starting from September 26, we will jointly open the border between Venezuela and Colombia,” the president wrote on Twitter. “In addition, we will resume flights between Caracas–Bogotá and Valencia–Bogotá. The exchange and cooperation between our peoples are starting off on the right path.”
Many experts see this new attack against Conviasa as the first of many coming actions planned by Washington to torpedo the positive spirit being built since the inauguration of President Gustavo Petro in Colombia, rebuilding the historic relations between Venezuela and Colombia.
Orinoco Tribune special by staff
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