U.S. President Donald Trump has said that the airspace over and around Venezuela should be considered “completely closed.” He made the remark on Saturday in a post on Truth Social. However, he did not provide any additional details. The announcement comes as Washington intensifies pressure on President Nicolás Maduro’s government, according to a report by the British news agency Reuters.
Trump said, “To all airlines, pilots, drug traffickers, and human traffickers—consider the airspace over and around Venezuela as completely closed.”
The Venezuelan government or its communications ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The U.S. Department of Defense also declined to comment.
Over the past several months, the United States has been conducting operations in the Caribbean against suspected drug-smuggling vessels. At the same time, U.S. military presence in the region has increased. Trump has also authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela. This week, he told military personnel that the U.S. would soon begin ground operations to stop suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers.
Last week, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned major airlines that flying over Venezuela could pose dangerous situations due to the worsening security environment and increased military activity in the country. Following the advisory, Venezuela canceled flight permissions for six major international airlines. Those airlines had already suspended their flights to the country earlier.
The U.S. administration has long accused Maduro of being involved in drug trafficking—an allegation he has denied. Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, has accused Trump of trying to overthrow him, saying that the Venezuelan people and military would resist such efforts.
So far, U.S. forces in the region have mainly focused on anti-drug operations. However, the strength they have amassed exceeds the needs of such missions. Since September, the U.S. has carried out at least 21 attacks on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and Pacific oceans, killing at least 83 people.
