Washington, DC – In a new escalation that brings the US-Venezuelan crisis to the brink of open confrontation, US President Donald Trump on Saturday called on global airlines to treat the airspace over and near Venezuela as “completely closed.” Observers described it as the most serious aerial move in the crisis in years.
Trump said via his Truth Social platform: “To all airlines, pilots, drug dealers, and human traffickers… please consider the airspace over and around Venezuela completely closed,” in a message that seemed more like an operational warning than a passing political statement.
Military escalation in the Caribbean
The warning coincided with a major US military buildup in the Caribbean, including the deployment of the world’s largest aircraft carrier near Venezuelan waters. This deployment was part of a campaign Washington declared was aimed at “curbing drug trafficking.” However, Caracas viewed the military buildup as a direct attempt to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro and seize control of the country’s vast oil wealth.
In recent weeks, US forces have conducted strikes against more than 20 vessels, which they described as suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. According to the Pentagon, these operations resulted in the deaths of more than 80 people, despite the lack of any evidence linking the vessels to illicit activity. This has drawn sharp international criticism.
Air travel disruptions and airlines suspend flights
The US Federal Aviation Administration had requested last week that aircraft operating in the airspace
