The first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela in seven years landed in Caracas on Thursday, marking a striking diplomatic turnaround between two countries that spent much of the past decade in bitter confrontation. American Airlines Flight AA3599, operated by regional subsidiary Envoy Air, departed Miami International Airport shortly after 10 a.m. local time and touched down at Simón Bolívar International Airport — also known as Maiquetía airport — near Caracas just over three hours later, greeted by a traditional water-cannon arch on the tarmac.

The inauguration of the route comes roughly four months after US special forces captured then-president Nicolás Maduro in a nighttime raid on his Caracas residence in early January, an operation that dramatically reordered the bilateral relationship. Since Maduro's removal, his vice-president Delcy Rodríguez has assumed power as acting president, overseeing a series of economic concessions to the United States. The same day as the inaugural flight, Rodríguez's government signed two oil exploration and exploitation contracts with US firms Overseas Oil Company and Crossover Energy Holding, covering fields in Venezuela's Anzoátegui, Monagas, and Barinas states. The US Treasury has also partially lifted sanctions, authorising financial operations with four Venezuelan state-owned banks, including the country's central bank.

US chargé d'affaires John Barrett, speaking at the airport alongside Venezuelan transport minister Jacqueline Faría, described the flight as