Travelers from Trinidad and Tobago have long enjoyed the sun-drenched beaches and lively markets of Margarita, Venezuela, but recent weeks have brought fresh warnings and a sense of unease. As tensions between the United States and Venezuela escalate, travel agents and government officials are urging caution, while the region braces for the possible fallout from a rapidly intensifying standoff.
On August 5, Laura Baldeosingh, General Manager of Amrals Travel in Trinidad, sounded the alarm for would-be tourists. "Instances of unrest and riots and so on have always led us to taking that precaution," she told Newsday. "I would say, for us, even at this point in time, we will divert people from Venezuela or Margarita at this point." Her words echoed those of Suzanne, a manager at Krystal Tours, who bluntly stated, "I would not advise them to go to Venezuela, because Caribbean Airlines (CAL) has suspended their route as you would have noticed."
Caribbean Airlines' suspension of flights to Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, is just one sign of the growing strain. However, flights to Margarita, a favorite destination for Trinidadian visitors, remain operational for now. Travel agencies report that the peak season for trips to Venezuela is during the July/August vacation period, with September and October typically quieter. As of early September 2025, there has been no change in the overall frequency of flights compared to last year, and none of Suzanne’s flights to Margarita have been canceled.
Despite the relatively stable flow of travelers, the mood is shifting. "Its only natural that people wouldn’t want to travel if things escalate. People would be mindful of the fact and they wouldn’t want to leave their homes. I may not want to leave my home as well, so it could eventually affect travel," Suzanne admitted. The uncertainty is palpable, with Baldeosingh adding, "Our clients have not alerted us of any concerns at all at this point, but things have not been clear for us as yet. We don’t know where TT stands. So if information isn’t given to the public, at that point in time, I guess the scare will start."
Both travel agents emphasize the importance of travel insurance for anyone venturing abroad during these unpredictable times. Their advice is rooted in a broader context of political and military developments that have brought Venezuela back into international headlines.
The diplomatic chill between the US and Venezuela is nothing new. The relationship has been fraught since 2018, when President Nicolas Maduro secured a second term amid widespread accusations of electoral fraud and global condemnation. The National Assembly quickly declared Maduro’s election illegitimate, paving the way for opposition leader Juan Guaido to claim the interim presidency—an action that drew robust support from then-US President Donald Trump, who called Guaido "the true and legitimate president of Venezuela" in a 2020 State of the Union address.
The standoff between Maduro and the opposition, compounded by US sanctions and Venezuela’s economic woes following the 2014 oil price collapse, has continued unabated. In 2024, Maduro was re-elected, once again under a cloud of fraud allegations. The US responded by reimposing tough sanctions and, in 2025, revoked an OFAC license that had allowed Trinidad and Tobago to pursue cross-border energy deals with Venezuela—effectively freezing the much-anticipated Dragon gas project.
But the diplomatic and economic pressure has recently given way to military action. In the past month, US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a staggering US$50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, declaring him "one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world" and a threat to US national security. According to CNN, this was part of a broader campaign to crack down on narcotics trafficking by Venezuelan cartels, which the US has designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
On September 1, 2025, US forces conducted a dramatic airstrike on a drug-smuggling boat linked to the notorious Tren de Aragua cartel, killing all 11 people on board. The operation, carried out in international waters in the southern Caribbean, was the opening salvo in what sources describe as a larger campaign to destabilize Maduro’s regime by targeting its illicit revenue streams. US officials believe that by squeezing those around Maduro who benefit from cartel activities, they might provoke internal pressure for change at the top.
President Trump, now in his second term, has reportedly not ruled out further military strikes inside Venezuela. Multiple sources told CNN and The New York Post that Trump’s administration is weighing a "wide campaign" of strikes aimed at weakening Maduro’s grip on power. "The preferred course of action is for Maduro to leave on his own, to read the tea leaves," one source said. The message from Washington is clear: "Do you want it to be easy or do you want it to be hard?"
The US military presence in the Caribbean has grown accordingly. Over 4,000 troops and at least eight Navy warships have been deployed to the region in recent weeks, with 10 F-35 fighter jets sent to Puerto Rico as part of the anti-cartel crackdown. The Pentagon confirmed that, two days after the initial strike, Venezuelan warplanes flew over a US Navy ship in a "highly provocative move." Trump responded forcefully, warning that any Venezuelan jets threatening US forces "will be shot down."
Despite the saber-rattling, Trump has denied that outright regime change is the immediate goal. "We’re not talking about that," he told reporters, though he did not shy away from criticizing the 2024 Venezuelan election as "a very strange election, to put it mildly." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reinforced the administration’s stance: "The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela. It is a narco-terror cartel, and Maduro, it is the view of this administration, is not a legitimate president. He is a fugitive head of this cartel who has been indicted in the United States for trafficking drugs into the country."
The pressure campaign has implications far beyond Washington and Caracas. For Trinidad and Tobago, the stakes are high. The US sanctions and military maneuvers have already halted energy projects vital to the island nation’s economy. Meanwhile, travel agents and ordinary citizens are left to weigh the risks of venturing to a country where the political and security situation could change overnight.
As the off-season lulls the travel industry into a temporary calm, the sense of foreboding remains. The next steps—whether diplomatic, economic, or military—will shape not only the future of Venezuela but also the fortunes of its neighbors and the safety of travelers from across the Caribbean. For now, caution is the watchword, and uncertainty is the only certainty.
