U.S. suspends flights to Venezuela

The United States on Wednesday suspended all commercial passenger and cargo flights to and from Venezuela because conditions there “threaten the safety and security of passengers, aircraft, and crew,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said. Many international airlines had already suspended flights to the country, but some domestic Venezuelan airlines like Avior Airlines had continued operations to Miami.

Venezuela remains embroiled in a political stalemate. Embattled President Nicolás Maduro refuses to step down, while opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who became interim president after invoking a clause in the Venezuelan Constitution, has support from the United States and dozens of other countries. The country continues to face power outages, water shortages, and food scarcity.

U.S. officials said they will consider revisiting the suspension “if and when the conditions in Venezuela change.”

Venezuelan officials late on Wednesday said representatives from the government and the opposition traveled to Norway for negotiations to end the unrest.