Thousands stranded in Caribbean islands after Trump’s Venezuela attack

President Donald Trump carried out airstrikes across Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, as part of an effort to kidnap Nicolás Maduro, who had previously been voted out of office on July 28, 2024 and refused to leave. Now, visitors across the Caribbean are stranded in paradise.

One of Trump's first actions was to have the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration close all airspace for U.S. islands in the Caribbean, such as the U.S. Virgin Islands. It started a cascade of problems for other islands and skiddish airlines.

While the FAA officially reopened travel restrictions for the U.S. Virgin Islands, that doesn't necessarily mean those stranded will have options on Sunday.

Bonaire, which is a Dutch Caribbean Island in the "ABC" islands, announced that they're monitoring the situation closely, and as of yesterday, they had some flights going out. However, the Dutch airline KLM suspended flights. It's the main airline used by those flying in from the Netherlands.

Coos Ben Kejser wrote an update on Sunday morning with his videos and photos of a grocery store in Bonaire.

"So what’s happening on Bonaire after the USA attack on Venezuela? People are concerned, not anxious. How will this impact island life, tourism, supply of goods. Resulting in long lines and empty shelves at the grocery stores. EU flights have started up again today. We’ll see what the future brings. Meanwhile, island life continues," said Kejser.

New Jersey resident Koral Huston posted on the Facebook group for USVI travel and life, asking if anyone had any updated information because she, too, was stranded.

"Anyone else on island with a scheduled flight home for tomorrow 1/4? Everything cancelled in or out of STT today. Nothing about flights being cancelled or delayed tomorrow, airline already giving the option to change flight but there’s no flights available to change now until next weekend," she said.

Her comment was flooded with folks in the same situation, naming their airline and the date that they were set to leave. That appears to not be an option anymore until next weekend. Some have suggested that they take the ferry to a British Virgin Island and try to use one of those airlines to fly back into the U.S.

The pause was set for just 24 hours, but once a customer service person at an airline can be reached, travelers aren't being booked for a week later.

Many replied saying that she should call her airline, but one person made it clear that the airlines won't have any information until Trump's FAA decides to lift air restrictions.

Pennsylvanian Tricia Schucker posted on the group offering to help stranded folks. "We are supposed to come in on Tuesday. We won’t have a lot of room, and honestly I don’t know if we are allowed to have anyone stay with us. But we will do our best to help take care of anyone who needs to leave that cannot," she posted.

If push comes to shove, Nancy Leary-Babcock noted "Cinnamon Bay campground" usually has options available "for a few nights at least you are on the island.

"All USVI seaports are also open territory-wide," said the Virgin Islands Port Authority on Saturday in a news release.

"Foreign airlines and military aircraft are not subject to this restriction, per FAA authorizations. The measure has been an initial validity of about 24 hours, subject to evaluation and possible extensions by the federal authorities," it continued.

Business Insider wrote that Flightradar24 data "shows Venezuela's airspace is empty following the strikes. While US airlines haven't flown there for years, the Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday formally barred operations in Venezuelan airspace, essentially codifying an already de facto no-fly zone."