Venezuela Takes Back the Valencia and Puerto Cabello Airports for Its State Operator

VENEZUELA · INFRASTRUCTURE

The decrees were published in late August. Venezuela found out about them in September.

Venezuela’s national executive has reasserted control over the airports serving Valencia and Puerto Cabello, through the state operator Bolivariana de Aeropuertos, under decrees published in late August.

What Was Taken

Gaceta Oficial 43.443, dated 24 August 2026, transfers Arturo Michelena International Airport at Valencia and Bartolomé Salom National Airport at Puerto Cabello to national control through BAER, Bolivariana de Aeropuertos.

A follow-up instrument, Gaceta Oficial 43.446 of 27 August, appointed retired general Raúl Antonio Spallone Márquez as manager of both.

The story became public reporting around 11 September, more than two weeks after publication. That gap is itself characteristic: Venezuelan administrative decisions frequently reach the public through the official gazette rather than through announcement.

Why Carabobo

Valencia is Venezuela’s principal industrial city and Arturo Michelena has been the country’s second international gateway for years, carrying traffic that Caracas could not or would not handle.

Puerto Cabello is Venezuela’s largest port. An airport attached to it is a logistics asset rather than a passenger one.

Airport control in Venezuela has moved between national and state hands repeatedly, usually tracking the political relationship between the central government and the state governor. A transfer to national control through a state operator, with a retired general installed to run it, follows a well-established pattern.

A Point of Care on Who Governs

Delcy Rodríguez has been Venezuela’s acting president since 5 January 2026, sworn in following Nicolás Maduro’s removal from power. International coverage marked six months of her tenure in July.

That is head of state, not merely head of government, and the distinction is worth getting right. Reporting that describes her only as leading a government understates the position she holds.

The Rio Times found no September-dated confirmation that the position has changed, and reports the arrangement as it stood at the most recent confirmation.

What BAER Is and What It Runs

Bolivariana de Aeropuertos was created to consolidate airport administration under national control, and it operates a set of terminals across the country under the transport ministry.

Its remit has expanded as individual airports have moved from state and regional administration into the national system, generally through the official gazette rather than through negotiated transfer.

Venezuela’s civil aviation sector has shrunk severely over the past decade. International carriers have withdrawn, fleet availability has collapsed and several regional terminals handle a fraction of their former traffic.

Consolidating administration of a shrinking network is easier than running a growing one, which is part of why these transfers attract little resistance.

Why a General

Appointing a retired officer to manage two airports is entirely routine in Venezuela. The armed forces have held administrative positions across ports, airports, food distribution and the oil sector for the better part of two decades.

The practice began under Hugo Chávez and expanded under Nicolás Maduro, and it survives changes at the top because it is how the relationship between the government and the military is maintained in practice rather than on paper.

Reading a single appointment as a signal about the direction of the current government would therefore be overreading it. The signal, if there is one, is continuity.

More: Venezuela news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which airports were taken over?

Arturo Michelena International at Valencia and Bartolomé Salom National at Puerto Cabello, both in Carabobo state.

What is BAER?

Bolivariana de Aeropuertos, the Venezuelan state airport operator.

When was it decided?

Gaceta Oficial 43.443 of 24 August 2026, with a manager appointed by Gaceta Oficial 43.446 of 27 August.

Who runs them now?

Retired general Raúl Antonio Spallone Márquez.

Who leads Venezuela?

Delcy Rodríguez has served as acting president since 5 January 2026.

Sources: El Pitazo, La Patilla, CNN en Espanol, Al Jazeera.