Passengers aboard the Aeropostal flight from Caracas to Santo Domingo protested the onboard presence of a Venezuelan official with an outburst of noise, called a "cacerolazo" – from the Spanish "cacerola" or pot. The loud display of disapproval was focused against General Francisco Belisario Landis, the Venezuelan ambassador to the DR, who had been head of the National Guard in Venezuela and is a close supporter of Hugo Chavez. Flight 824 returned to Caracas, where after an hour and a half of negotiations the 90 passengers and the ex-military commandant agreed to continue the voyage without further disruption.
