Natalie Portman among slew of celebrities ‘stranded’ in Caribbean

A number of celebrities have been stranded on holiday in the Caribbean after its airspace was shut down following Donald Trump’s invasion of Venezuela and capture of the country’s president Nicolas Maduro, it is reported.

US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy closed airspace around the collection of nations that includes Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday night after the attack on Venezuela by the US.

The commercial flights and private jets that were meant to ferry movie stars and millionaires back home after their New Year’s celebrations were grounded as a result.

Page Six reports that Queen Latifah, Mike Tyson, Ming Lee Simmons and Natalie Portman were among those beached on the exclusive island of St Barts.

According to the outlet, Portman remains stranded with ‘lots of work commitments to get back to this week’, including the Golden Globes, where she’s nominated for Arco.

As Chelsea Handler noted in her monologue at the People’s Choice Awards, Leonardo DiCaprio missed the Palm Springs International Film Awards due to being stuck on St Barts.

Comedian Jeff Ross also got stuck in St Barts after flying down for Beacher’s Madhouse, founded by pal Jeff Beacher. He quipped online: ‘Planes are grounded. Rowing to New York.’

Cuba Gooding Jr and his girlfriend, Claudine DeNiro, were spotted in Anguilla on Monday, waiting for a private plane to rescue them.

DeNiro posted a shot of her tanned legs on a sunlounger on Anguilla’s idyllic beach with the caption: ‘Being stuck…’

Why are celebrities stranded in the Caribbean?

Venezuela is only around 7 miles from countries in the Caribbean, leading to flight cancellations over the weekend.

According to FlightRadar24.com, no airline flights crossed over Venezuela on Saturday, while major airlines cancelled hundreds of flights across the eastern Caribbean. The Associated Press reported that passengers could continue to face disruption for days.

Flights were cancelled to and from Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Aruba and other destinations in the Lesser Antilles Island group, which is just north of Venezuela.

On Saturday afternoon, British holidaymakers were left stranded as three planes heading for the Caribbean u-turned mid-flight. Some travel is now starting to resume.

Why has Donald Trump targeted Venezuela?

The US government has attacked Venezuela over accusations leader Maduro is ‘responsible for terrorist violence’ in the Western Hemisphere.

Maduro denies being involved, but this moment – in which his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, was also captured – marks the latest attempt by the president to stop drug trafficking into the US.

This comes after months of fatal strikes targeting boats in Venezuelan waters following claims they were carrying drugs linked to gangs.

In September, a strike against a Venezuelan gang in the Caribbean left 11 people dead in international waters, prompting questions about the legality of the attack.

While declaring he now wants to run Venezuela, Trump also pledged to inject ‘billions of dollars’ into exploiting the oil-rich country’s natural resources.

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