# Caribbean Flight Cancellations due to Venezuelan "War" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 4, 2026, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353 "2026-01-04T22:31:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/1 "2026-01-04T22:31:45Z")
I just watched a video showing how tens of thousands of USAans are stranded in the Caribbean because all their flights have been grounded. The airlines have no obligation to feed or accommodate them; all they get is a refund of the fare.# [Flights to Caribbean canceled after US strikes in Venezuela](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cr1aN5F1pE) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/2 "2026-01-04T22:35:39Z")
Yep, my daughter is house-sitting for a vacationing couple who were supposed to be back yesterday. Now they’re hoping for anytime this week. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/3 "2026-01-04T22:38:16Z")
There are worse places to be stranded, as long as you have the money and a place to stay. I feel for those having to sleep in the airport. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/4 "2026-01-04T22:41:15Z")
I saw a clip of a blogger walking along a sunny beach, filming the blue sea and warm sand, mock-complaining how terrible it was to be unable to fly back to his home in Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/5 "2026-01-04T22:43:46Z")
Funny. I lived on St. Thomas for several months in the 70s. A beautiful place with water so clear you can see the bottom. As a non-swimmer and non-sunbather, I still enjoyed walking on the beaches. If you drink enough rum, it’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2026, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/6 "2026-01-04T22:44:22Z")
I’m seeing Flights have resumed. But I’m not there. News is fanning these flames. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/7 "2026-01-05T00:33:40Z")
There is no logical reason to suspend flights to/from almost all of the Caribbean. The only questionable islands are Trinidad and Tobago. Which USN could easily protect from Venezuelan aerial retaliation. This smells mostly manufactured to me. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/8 "2026-01-05T01:07:29Z")
Do you think it might’ve been the commercial airlines being overly cautious? If it was actually not just generic delays. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/9 "2026-01-05T01:09:14Z")
The problem is finding a room if you are stranded. Many places in Aruba rent weekly and there are limited slots available for day by day reservations. I’ve been there 4 times in the last several years and have had to rent rooms at other hotels separately if we arrive a day or two earlier. Not sure how that would work in this kind of emergency situation. Perhaps places are more flexible. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/10 "2026-01-05T01:57:30Z")
If nobody is coming in and nobody is coming out it all balances. Different people, but same number of people. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/11 "2026-01-05T02:06:39Z")
It appears that other countries are still flying in/out - it appears to be just the US carriers cancelled. So it’s a crapshoot about your room. I belong to a couple of Aruba groups on Facebook and it is a circus. Some people can’t get flights back to the US until January 10th/12th. Of course I need to keep in mind that most of the time people only post about their difficulties online and not their success. It appears that American carriers are starting to add some additional flights so hopefully things will even out in a few days. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/12 "2026-01-05T02:34:04Z")
If this means that members of the island vacation demographic are personally feeling some pain from Trump’s policies, that might have some longer-term benefits. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/13 "2026-01-05T04:35:26Z")
Apparently the strikes were launched from Puerto Rico, which is why so much of the Caribbean was closed to aircraft. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/14 "2026-01-05T04:51:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If this means that members of the island vacation demographic are personally feeling some pain from Trump’s policies, that might have some longer-term benefits. Agree. I guess I have to suffer as well. At least my trip isn’t until June so things might be calmer by then. Would be nice to know if there was any impact on some people’s perspective but I doubt this will change anything. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/15 "2026-01-05T12:56:40Z")
The leopard-eating thread is full of cites to people who voted for trump, have been personally harmed by some action of his, and still lurve everything he’s doing. I doubt anyone’s vacation being ruined is going to change their minds. If you hated him before, you now hate him more. If you loved him before, he can do no wrong so you must accommodate yourself to these minor inconveniences as he remakes our country into greatness. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/16 "2026-01-05T22:58:06Z")
[Many fun adventures to be had in Venezuela](https://ospreyexpeditions.com/is-venezuela-a-safe-place-to-visit/). Don’t listen to the negativity. > [@](#): > > Of course, traveling to Venezuela is not the easiest and even booking a flight ticket can be a struggle. But nature has not changed and there are several different ways to visit my country in a safe and fun way. Venezuela is more than ready to accept travelers and offers one of the best travel experiences ever. I have personally led a few overlanding group tours since July 2021 and the results were fantastic. All my clients found not only the exceptional nature but charming and authentic, very friendly local people. Ix-nay on the MAGA hats, though. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/17 "2026-01-06T17:22:44Z")
I have a Facebook friend who was sitting on a plane getting ready to take off for a Caribbean vacation early last Saturday morning. Her plane had already pulled back from the gate; they then sat on the tarmac for an hour; then pulled back to the gate, deplaned all of the passengers and canceled the flight. What’s worse is that they gave her no indication when they could get her on a later flight, so she drove back home and canceled her whole vacation. She is pretty pissed off. She is definitely not a Trump supporter, but there had to be some onboard that flight that are. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2026, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/18 "2026-01-06T18:00:37Z")
My wife and I have vacation plans in Riviera Maya, Mexico in February. I’m nervous about those plans now, with the trump admin having threatened incursions into Mexico and Cuba in the wake of the Venezuelan action. We do have cancellation insurance, so I guess we just keep a close eye on the news. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2026, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/19 "2026-01-06T18:43:04Z")
> [@solost](#): > > My wife and I have vacation plans in Riviera Maya, Mexico in February. I’m nervous about those plans now, with the trump admin having threatened incursions into Mexico and Cuba in the wake of the Venezuelan action. We do have cancellation insurance, so I guess we just keep a close eye on the news. It’s good that you have purchased travel insurance. I always purchase a decent policy for international trips. I hope everything goes well for you all. I have an annual trip to Aruba in mid June this year. Hopefully everything will be calm for that adventure. Regardless I will taking all of my medications with me instead of just enough for the trip. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2026, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353/20 "2026-01-06T18:50:46Z")
> [@robby](#): > > She is pretty pissed off. She is definitely not a Trump supporter, but there had to be some onboard that flight that are. Maybe “there had to be some on the flight that **were** ” would be more appropriate phrasing. In general, by now I’m sure millions of Trump voters have buyer’s remorse. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/caribbean-flight-cancellations-due-to-venezuelan-war/1026353.md?page=2)