The Venezuelan airline after having daily flights of the Caracas-La Habana-Managua route, these were reduced to three days
The airline of the Venezuelan Consortium of Aeronautical Industries and Air Services (Conviasa), created in 2044 by Hugo Chávez Frías, decreased between two and three direct flights per week the Caracas-Havana-Managua route, when it previously had an air connection with Nicaragua almost daily, which made it easier for both Venezuelan and Cuban migrants to use the country as a springboard to reach the United States.
The measure was known thanks to information provided by José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba, comes amid the resumption of talks between Venezuela and the United States, governed by dictator Nicolás Maduro and Joe Biden, respectively.
It is important to note that it was in May of this year that Conviasa added the two new frequencies of flights to Nicaragua, with stopover in Havana and departure point from Caracas, at that time the U.S. The U.S. insisted on its attempt to curb the use of international airlines to mobilize migrants to that country via Nicaragua. In fact, the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has been pointed out to promote irregular migration.
Contrary to June, when the Venezuelan airline made five flights a week, in July it will only make three: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from Caracas to Managua, and Monday and Wednesday from Managua to Caracas.
Although the airline has so far not issued any statement, LA PRENSA corroborated on the website that only the days mentioned above can be traveled.
It also indicates information provided by Havana Airport that from Moscow Conviasa will make two more flights to Nicaragua this month, only on Monday 15 and 29 July.
The Cuban media News Board said that now Cubans are gradually running out of options to take this route south of the U.S. border, despite the free visa.
What is the measure obeying?
Although the measure takes place in pre-election moments in Venezuela and the resumption of talks with the United States. The country of the destination of millions of migrants, both Cubans and Venezuelans, experts consulted by LA PRENSA say the causes are due to other reasons.
Manuel Orozco, analyst and director of the Migration, Remittances and Development program of the Inter-American Dialogue, told LA PRENSA that one of the reasons, in his opinion, is that flights are reduced – because there are fewer people – and in turn pointed out that it is also very expensive.
The number of people who have come out is very high. Not everyone can go, a lot of people are gone. That’s three-quarters of a million that have gone since 2020. And before between 2010 and 2019 more than half a million had gone, they were about 50,000 people annually. It is a country of 11 million, with -0.3 population growth, Orozco explained.
With the above, he ruled out that reason is political. I think it’s not a political issue but a commercial issue: the propensity to migrate is mitigated by the demographic size of its population, he concluded.
An expert in international relations, on the condition of anonymity, agreed with Orozco, pointing out that the measure is given – due to a decrease in the volume of passengers.
Tourist flights
Although the airline continues to sell flights to Nicaragua for tourist purposes, the truth is that Venezuelans have been experiencing a deep economic crisis for more than 10 years, which has caused them to leave that country far apart from tourism abroad, they leave that country in search mainly of reaching the United States.
Until now the most popular route was the land route, passing through the dangerous jungle of Darién, in Panama, where hundreds of migrants have lost their lives.
Conviasa has promoted the frequency of its direct flights to get to know Managua, the capital.
Managua is home to important historical sites, such as the Plaza de la Revolución, the Palace of Culture and the National Museum, the airline promotes its new frequency.
This month, Conviasa recommended that its passengers plan their next vacation to the international destinations it offers, including Managua, with the frequency now reduced.
In the case of Cuba, the situation is similar. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans have used Nicaragua since 2022 to arrive in the United States, after Daniel Ortega’s regime removed the visa requirement. This facilitated its entry into the country, which is used as a springboard and has contributed to the crisis on the border between the American Union and Mexico.
This article has been translated after first appearing in La Prensa Ni