ORLANDO, Fla. – Nine hundred Venezuelan tourists are stranded in the U.S., with at least 28 of them in Central Florida.

What You Need To Know

  • Tourists stranded in Central Florida

  • Yohany Castro's flight was canceled in March because of the pandemic

  • Castro can't get a new flight until travel ban end

​​Yohany Castro, 38, came from Venezuela to visit her cousin in Kissimmee. Her trip was scheduled to only last a month. However, the day before her flight on March 15, the Maduro administration suspended flights from Panama to the Dominican Republic. There are no direct flights from the U.S. to Venezuela.

Castro said she and the other stranded tourists keep in touch to support and update each other about their situation. Castro, unlike the other tourists, can continue to do her job despite being stranded in the U.S. She works via teleconferencing.

The majority of the other Venezuelans are unable to work with their travel visa. Nonprofit organizations like Casa de Venezuela provide them with help through food drives and food banks. Castro also has a place to stay—her cousin she came to visit.

Castro said the return home is complicated because airlines can’t change her return flight trip date until they know when the travel ban will end. The Maduro administration announced it will decide whether to extend June 12. They’ve already extended it twice.

Castro said another complication is the fact that the Juan Guiado administration is helping her return home but the Maduro administration is in power in Venezuela.