The DOT recently canceled an order prohibiting all passenger and cargo flights between the two countries.

Zach Vasile

The first nonstop passenger flight between the U.S. and Venezuela in seven years departed Miami International Airport Thursday morning.

The flight, operated by American Airlines subsidiary Envoy Air, is expected to land in Caracas around 1:36 p.m. local time. The service will operate daily going forward.

American showed off the Embraer E175 regional jet scheduled to launch the route at an event in Fort Worth, Texas, on Wednesday. The aircraft bears a special livery celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S.

American was the first U.S. airline to announce a return to Venezuela after the Department of Transportation lifted a 2019 ban on all passenger and cargo traffic between the two countries. The reversal followed the January ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is now in custody in New York and facing drug trafficking charges.

Relations between the two countries have somewhat normalized since, and regulators approved American’s planned service to Caracas in early March.

The carrier is also preparing for flights to Maracaibo, in western Venezuela, though no start date for that route has been announced.

American has the strongest Caribbean and South American network of any U.S. airline, and was seen as a likely candidate to kick off the return of U.S. carriers to Venezuela.