Portuguese community hit by Venezuela flights ban

(21 Feb 2020) Venezuela's decision to suspend all flights by TAP Air Portugal has sparked an outcry from the country's large Portuguese community.
The Venezuelan government acted after the airline flew opposition leader Juan Guaido back to Caracas following his international tour aimed at promoting the removal of President Nicolas Maduro.
At the Portuguese Club in Caracas, administration worker Marlene Vieira said the move had wrecked plans by three members of her family to travel abroad next month to see their children.
Agustino da Silva, who runs a restaurant inside the Portuguese Club, said the three-month suspension needed to be rescinded - for the good of the community and for Venezuela itself.
Francisco Ferreira, who runs a bakery, has been living in Venezuela for almost half a century, and has never returned to the Portuguese island of Madeira where he was born.
He sees the government's dispute with the airline as yet another factor making life more complicated for the people of Venezuela.
"What I would like for this country is everything to work properly," he sighed.
Portugal has described Venezuela's decision as "completely unfounded and unjustified."
Portugal is in a coalition of European and Latin American nations, called the "International Contact Group," that has backed Guaidó against Maduro.
Thousands of Portuguese immigrants live in Venezuela.
The Portuguese flag carrier is one of the few international airlines still serving Caracas, with twice weekly flights.

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