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The Venezuelan government expressed concern about a possible embargo on its official plane that will be used to take its delegation to Buenos Aires to attend the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which is scheduled for the day January 24, reports the Argentine press.
This concern is based on the story of the Emtrasur Boeing 747-300 that was detained in June last year at Ezeiza airport, which was at the request of the justice of the United States, which contained a crew of 14 Venezuelans and about 5 Iranians. The Ministry of Justice of Argentina granted its request for the American seizure, which ended up generating a serious diplomatic conflict with Caracas.
According to some official sources cited by Clarín, the ambassadors of Cuba and Venezuela in Argentina, Pedro Pablo Prada Quintero and Stella Lugo, respectively, spoke about the government of Alberto Fernández and their fears about the safety of the planes that transported both delegations.
Despite complaints from both countries, both Nicolás Maduro and Cuban Miguel Díaz-Canel must make their trips on Venezuelan state-owned Conviasa planes. Based on ANAC data, one of these flights should land in Argentina on January 23, 2023 at 16:20 pm, after crossing Brazilian airspace.
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According to the sources, the request for a guarantee requested by ambassadors was not met. However, there is still confidence in the good relationship with the government of Argentina and especially with Kirchnerism. This Conviasa airline, which has been and will be used by both Maduro and Díaz-Canel, is sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Controls (OFAC). She is still accused of being part of the alleged corruption scheme set up by the Venezuelan government.
The Venezuelan government is planning to open an air route between Brazil and the tourist island of Margarita still during this first quarter of 2023, while it has been taking some measures to activate direct flights between Caracas and São Paulo, through Conviasa, the state-owned airline that, announced on Tuesday (03), the Venezuelan Transport Minister, Ramón Velásquez.
This announcement of the air opening came after bilateral relations between Venezuela and Brazil were formally reestablished with the inauguration of current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). “Margarita is a destination that has been the target of great advances in the airline industry and, for the first quarter of this year, we are even planning to connect Brazil to Margarita”, explained the minister in telephone interviews with the state broadcaster “Venezolana de Televisión”, said Valasquez.
The minister also confirmed that these new destinations will allow Venezuela to promote the tourist sector, in order to "guarantee" the growth of the country's "non-oil economy". As for domestic connections, the announcement was that, during the first three months of this year, Conviasa will activate flights from the country's capital to the state of Mérida (northwest) and also Apure (west, on the border with Colombia).
