FAIRBORN — Hundreds of Caribbean flights have been canceled following the U.S. strike on Venezuela.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, who have since arrived in New York to face federal charges.
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President Donald Trump called the “large-scale” strike a success early Saturday morning.
Trump said the United States will now run Venezuela, but the country’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, denied those claims.
Major airlines like Delta, United, JetBlue, Southwest, and American have since canceled flights.
Fairborn resident Marta Malavich’s daughter, Kelli Hall, had a ticket to come home, but is stuck in Puerto Rico.
“JetBlue canceled them on Friday, the day before. No explanation,” she said.
She said her daughter quickly learned what happened.
“It was just mass chaos. (The) lady said, ‘All flights are canceled,’ and my daughter is my daughter. She just kind of said, ‘Okay, right?’ She came up, she said, ‘No, ma’am, they have on Venezuela so there are no flights in or out.’”
According to the Associated Press, JetBlue said it canceled about 215 flights “due to airspace closures across the Caribbean related to military activity.”
Malavich said her daughter is in good spirits because she booked a flight for Wednesday.
“It was $800 each just to get back, you know, you’re gonna pay it just to get out of there,” she said.
Cedarville University International Studies Professor Dr. Glen Duerr said airlines are canceling flights as a safety precaution.
“The obvious one is the security situation with flying vessels going into the area; there’s always the potential for miscommunication and for danger,” Duerr said.
He added that airlines won’t fly unless they know passengers are safe, and in situations like this, they look at all possibilities.
“A rogue general, for example, could seek to strike at a US vessel off its coast,“ Duerr said.
Malavich is worried and wants her daughter home.
“I’m still scared, scared to death,” she said. “She likes to travel, but more than ever, I wish she had not gone.”
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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