Canadian tourists voice concerns over Caribbean travel after U.S. strike on Venezuela
CBC
People call them the ABC islands: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
All three are located in the southwestern Caribbean's leeward Antilles, off the coast of Venezuela. All three are popular tourist destinations, known for their sandy beaches and rich cultures.
But now — days after the U.S. hit Venezuela with what it described as a "large-scale strike" and captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores — the ABC islands have something else in common: trepidation among some travellers.
"We're debating our mid-February trip ... Frankly, if a war was happening 50 nautical miles away from where I'm supposed to be having a relaxing vacation, I wait until things have settled," someone posted Monday on the Curacao Travel Tips by Locals Facebook group.
"I'm scheduled to go for 2 weeks in June ... and evaluating now whether to cancel," someone else wrote on the Aruba Travel Tips Facebook group over the weekend.
The U.S. strike on Venezuela came after months of increasing pressure by Washington, including the interception of oil tankers off Venezuela's coast and the targeting of smaller boats said to be carrying drugs.
On Saturday, several hours after U.S. Special Forces swooped into Caracas by helicopter, shattered Maduro's security cordon and dragged him from the threshold of a safe room, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) issued a travel advisory warning Canadians to avoid all travel to Venezuela.
"The current situation in Venezuela is tense and could escalate quickly," GAC said in its warning.
"Avoid all travel to Venezuela due to the significant level of violent crime, the unstable political and economic situations, the risk of arbitrary detention, and the decline in basic living conditions, including shortages of medication, gasoline and water."
GAC didn't extend its warning to Caribbean islands.
But Air Canada issued its own travel advisory on Saturday for Venezuela and surrounding regions, noting it would allow people to change their itineraries for flights into 17 different airports up to Jan. 6. These include airports in Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Curaçao, Saint Lucia and the Dominican Republic.
"Because of the situation in Venezuela and surrounding regions, we understand that you may want to make alternate travel arrangements," Air Canada wrote.
WestJet and Air Transat both told CBC News they were monitoring the situation and not seeing an impact on bookings or operations.
The issue with the unprecedented strike on Venezuela is that no one can say for sure what happens next, said Marie-Christine Doran, a professor in the school of political studies at the University of Ottawa.
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