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VENEZUELA-DIPLOMACY
Almost 300 people stranded in Venezuela due to virus leave for Spain
CARACAS, April 17, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Almost 300 people, mostly
Spaniards, were evacuated from Venezuela on a humanitarian flight
after they were stranded because of restrictions to fight the
coronavirus.
The charter flight, coordinated by several European nations, left
Caracas airport for Madrid Thursday afternoon, the European Union
delegation said in a statement.
There were more than 100 Spaniards and Spanish residents on board,
Jesus Silva, Spain’s ambassador to Venezuela, said on Twitter.
The 275 travelers from 21 nations were stranded after President
Nicolas Maduro’s government suspended flights into and out of
Venezuela to control the spread of the virus.
Venezuela has reported 204 people infected and nine deaths so far,
according to the Johns Hopkins tally.
This is the second humanitarian flight chartered by various European
embassies in cooperation with authorities. The first one left
Venezuela on March 26 for Madrid with more than 360 passengers on
board, including 139 Spaniards and 26 French citizens.
BSS/AFP/MRU/1754hrs