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Audio By Carbonatix
President Donald Trump announced in a Truth Social post early Saturday morning that the U.S. had carried out “a large-scale strike against Venezuela” and captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Social media lit up with videos showing smoke billowing after strikes on what appear to be military targets in the South American nation.
The news is consequential and deeply felt in South Florida, home to the largest population of Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S.
But it’s also affecting locals outside of Venezuelan enclaves such as Doral. Dozens of flights to the Caribbean were canceled at Miami International Airport this morning. New Times music editor Flor Franceschetti was there; she was set to fly to San Juan, Puerto Rico, but her flight was canceled, too. Franceschetti arrived at the airport just before 4:30 a.m. The TSA lines were long, she says, with stragglers still flying home after the holidays. “People were even wearing New Year’s hats at security points,” she says.
According to Franceschetti, flights started announcing delays at around 5:15 a.m. Shortly thereafter, travelers began speculating on whether the military actions in Venezuela were the cause of the delays. Trump announced the capture of Maduro on his Truth Social platform at 4:21 a.m., and news began spreading quickly among travelers.
The lines at customer service were hundreds of people deep, added Franceschetti. One man’s luggage was wrapped in the American and Venezuelan flags.
“Around 8.30 a.m., the American Airlines team announced over the speakers that the flights to Puerto Rico were canceled or postponed indefinitely because the airspace over the Caribbean was closed to U.S. flights,” Franceschetti says.
Unsurprisingly, according to flight tracking site FlightAware, MIA leads the nation for flight delays and cancellations today.
Screenshot via FlightAware
According to the New York Times, Maduro and his wife have been taken to the U.S.S. Iwo Jima, “one of the American warships that have been prowling the Caribbean.”
Greg Chin, communications director at Miami International Airport, told New Times that, “There are still flights operating between MIA and the Caribbean, but 40 flights have been canceled so far today, mostly to and from Caribbean cities.” He added that affected destinations include San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas; Sint Maarten; Aruba; Curaçao; Camaguey and Holguin, Cuba; St. Croix and Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
At 10:45 a.m., MIA posted an advisory about the cancellations. “Due to restricted airspace near Venezuela and parts of the Caribbean, some flights at MIA may be affected,” the airport’s @iflymia account posted to X.
This is a breaking story and will be updated as events warrant.
