Restricted Caribbean and Latin American airspace leads to cancellations and delays as experts weigh broader regional consequences.<\/p>\n
TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 After airstrikes over Venezuela<\/a> led to restricted airspace across parts of Latin America, airports across the United States experienced widespread disruptions, including at Tampa International Airport.<\/p>\n On Saturday, around 6 p.m., there were 16 cancellations and 171 delays at Tampa International Airport.<\/p>\n On a national level, U.S. administrators said the mission, named \u201cOperation Absolute Resolve,\u201d involved more than 150 aircraft<\/a>. A military tactic applauded by University of South Florida professor Rob Burrell, who conducts research with the school’s Global and National Security Institute.<\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S. has the best toys in the bag. That’s why we had an amazing projection of U.S. military force. The hard work is going to be rebuilding a state that, after over three decades, has just become the most corrupt state in the Americas,\u201d Burrell said.<\/p>\n Following the strikes, several flights between San Juan and Tampa International Airport were canceled. In Miami, the impact was more pronounced. Miami International Airport faced at least 105 cancelled flights<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n In Miami, the most problematic routes involved Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands.\u00a0<\/p>\n Regardless of the airport, no airline flights<\/a> were allowed to cross over Venezuela<\/a> on Saturday, according to FlightRadar24.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n The disruptions come as the Tampa Bay area remains home to about 33,000 Venezuelan migrants, according to University of Tampa economics professor Abby Hall-Blanco.<\/p>\n \u201cFor those individuals, this event is going to be important. Whether they support the regime or in the case of Venezuelan migrants, many of them have fled the regime, so might be happy to see the Maduro regime removed or at least it’s figure head,\u201d Hall-Blanco said.<\/p>\n After studying U.S. intervention in Latin America for the past decade, Hall-Blanco said the effects of the strikes extend well beyond air travel.<\/p>\n \u201cJust because Maduro is gone doesn’t mean that the regime is completely gone. Beyond that, there is kind of a separate question of even if we think that Maduro should go, many of us are in that camp, whether or not the United States should play an active role in that removal is a fundamentally separate question,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Airlines and airports continue to monitor conditions and warn travelers that additional disruptions remain possible.<\/p>\n