US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the airspace over and around Venezuela should be treated as closed, a statement that comes amid intensifying pressure from Washington on President Nicolás Maduro’s government.
“To all airlines, pilots, drug traffickers and human traffickers, please consider that AIRSPACE OVER AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA IS COMPLETELY CLOSED,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
According to Reuters, Venezuela’s Communications Ministry, responsible for the government’s press responses, did not immediately comment on the statement, and the U.S. Department of Defense also did not respond to questions.
US attacks on suspected drug trafficking ships in the Caribbean have continued for months along with a military buildup in the region, and Trump has authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela.
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He told U.S. service members this week that ground operations aimed at apprehending suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers would begin “very soon.”
The US aviation regulator last week warned major airlines about a “potentially dangerous situation” when flying over Venezuela, citing a “worsening security situation and increased military activity in or around” the country.
In response, Venezuela revoked the operating rights of six major international airlines that had suspended flights after the FAA alert.
The Trump administration has accused Maduro of being involved in drug trafficking, a claim the Venezuelan leader has denied.
(Reuters)
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