Trump officials flew on 1st non-stop commercial flight from US to Venezuela in years

Politics Trump admin. officials fly on first direct commercial flight between US and Venezuela in 7 years By Margaret Brennan Margaret Brennan Moderator, "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan;" Chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan is moderator of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on CBS. Based in Washington, D.C., Brennan is also the Network's chief foreign affairs correspondent and a contributing correspondent to 60 Minutes. Additionally, she appears regularly on the "CBS Evening News," leading coverage from Washington when news breaks on the political and foreign affairs fronts. Read Full Bio Margaret Brennan Updated on: April 30, 2026 / 6:01 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Trump administration officials were on the first nonstop commercial flight between the U.S. and Venezuela in seven years when it took off Thursday from Miami, bound for Caracas. National Energy Dominance Council's Jarrod Agen led the U.S. team, and Venezuela's newly appointed Ambassador to the U.S., Félix Plasencia, was also on board the American Airlines flight.Agen told CBS News that a White House team traveling to Caracas plans to push along some agreements between U.S. companies and Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA and some of its mining companies. HKN Energy, a company backed by Ross Perot Jr., as well as Hunt Energy, are among the new American entrants to the Venezuelan market. Agen expected to meet with interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez, too. A ribbon is cut following the arrival of an American Eagle, operating a regional flight for American Airlines, aircraft at Simon Bolivar International Airport in La Guaira, La Guaira state, Venezuela on April 30, 2026.  Federico PARRA /AFP via Getty Images The trip comes nearly four months after U.S. forces seized Rodríguez's predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife in a daring special forces raid. Both were extradited to New York to face drug trafficking charges an...