Venezuela suspends flights by Panama’s Copa for three months

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CARACAS, April 6, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Venezuela will suspend flights by Panamanian airline Copa for three months amid a deepening diplomatic row between the two Latin American countries, aviation authorities said Thursday.

All Copa flights “to and from the country are suspended as of April 6, 2018 as a measure to protect the Venezuelan financial system,” the National Civil Aviation Institute (INAC) said.

Panama on Thursday ordered Venezuela’s ambassador out and recalled its own envoy to the country as Caracas imposed sanctions on senior Panamanian officials and a number of companies.

The Venezuelan announcements followed a declaration by Panama this week that it had added President Nicolas Maduro to a list of individuals deemed a “high risk” in terms of money laundering.

Panama has aligned itself with more than a dozen other Latin American countries that have taken measures against Maduro and his government.