Last Thursday, Spanish-language media in Aruba published an article in which it was assured that the border between Aruba and Venezuela was opened, and that from last Thursday, direct flights would begin from Aruba to Venezuela and vice versa.
This news was also published in other Venezuelan media, which created hype among the residents of Aruba who have Venezuelan nationality, who want to travel to the country, as well as those who are in Venezuela and want to come to Aruba.
Regarding this news, our reporter contacted prime minister Evelyn Wever-Croes – who currently is in the Netherlands – to find out if this information was true. Wever-Croes said that the news “is incorrect. [The border] is still closed, pending colaboration with Venezuelan authorities. We are, however, working on it.”
The news came up after a lawyer specialized in aeronautics, Rodolfo Ruiz A. from the firm Clyde & Co., asserted on Twitter that “Aruba eliminated the NoTAM that restricted flights from Venezuela to Aruba”. The NoTAM was dated from 10 June 2022 until 22 July 2022.
Notices to Air Misisons (NoTAM), according to the International Organization of Civil Aviation, are notices containing aeronautic information which is indispensable for personnel who carries out flight operations. It includes all types of personnel relating to aviation, and is presented to aviation authorities in order to alert the flight crew regarding possible dangers in a flight route or a place which can compromise flight security.
However, a few minutes later, another NoTAM was published but dated from 21 July 2022 until 21 October 2022. From this, it can be understood that it was extended with three months – as usually the border closing with Venezuela is updated in Aruba every three months.
The government of Aruba published a press release indicated that the information that was circulating in social media was incorrect. “We inform that the government of Aruba is still negotiating with Venezuelan authorities”, it said. Wever-Croes accentuated that the negotiations are going well, but it’s not easy to just open the border, as this requires diplomacy from both countries as well as concrete agreements regarding various control measures that need to be in place. The prime minister asked every citizen in our country; particularly Venezuelan citizens who have made this island their home, to remain calm and to not believe news not coming from the government of Aruba. “The government of Aruba continues all efforts to achieve the opening of the border in a respectful and controlled manner, but this requires more cooperation with Venezuelan autorities”, Wever-Croes said.
Our reporter also found on Twitter a tweet from the “Netherlands Embassy in Venezuela’, which announced: “News is going around regarding the elimination of flight restrictions between Aruba and Venezuela. This is incorrect. Please do not contact your travel agent.”
It all began when the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, closed the border with Aruba for a period of 72 hours, on the 5th of Januari 2018. This measure was also directed to the islands of Curaçao and Bonaire. Back then, Maduro assured that this decision was in order to put ‘pressure for a healthy exchange’.
In 2019, prime minister Wever-Croes noted that Venezuelan vice-president declared that they were ready to open the border, but on the 10th of may she signed a decree to close the border between Aruba and Venezuela. This was motivated on the political, economical and social situation that Venezuela was going through. At the time, Aruba registered an increase in the amount of Venezuelan migrants arriving, which had an impact on public order and security in Aruba, which is in the general interest.
From that moment, no boat or plane, commercial or cargo, could enter Aruba coming directly from Venezuela. This caused that fruit and vegetable with a more accessible price was not able to come to the island. Aruban residents can travel to Venezuela only through other countries, like Panama and the Dominican Republic, which carries the consequence of very high cost for the travellers.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan citizens both in Aruba and Venezuela continue waiting for the necessary cooperation for this from Venezuelan authorities, although it must be noted that Venezuelans require a visa in order to enter the island.
