United States President Donald Trump has said that the airspace around Venezuela should be considered closed, as tensions escalate between the two countries.
The U.S. government does not have the legal authority to close other countries' airspace, and it has not offered details on how this would be enforced. U.S. officials have reportedly been preparing for a possible new phase of action against Venezuela, and have considered efforts to remove its leader, Nicolás Maduro, from power.
“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Venezuela’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Trump’s post a “colonialist threat”, saying it was “another extravagant, illegal and unjustified aggression against the Venezuelan people”.
The Trump administration has argued that Maduro is leading drug trafficking operations, which Venezuela’s government has denied.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a warning about heightened military activity around Venezuela, leading several international airlines to suspend flights in the region last week.
The U.S. military has been building up its presence in the Caribbean near Venezuela, and has authorised covert operations in the country.
Trump said on Thursday that the U.S. would soon begin actions to halt suspected Venezuelan drug trafficking on land.
It has also struck more than 20 boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, claiming without evidence that these boats were involved in drug trafficking.
At least 83 people have been killed in these U.S. airstrikes, with United Nations experts calling them a violation of international law.
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