President Donald Trump said Saturday morning that Venezuelan airspace should be considered “closed.” weighs in on military action against the South American nation.
“To all airlines, pilots, drug dealers and human traffickers, please consider the AIR SPACE OVER AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA COMPLETELY CLOSED,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
There was no immediate reaction to this message from Venezuela, which maintains control over its own airspace. Flight tracking data showed several planes were still flying over the country on Saturday morning.
Earlier this month, a number of airlines began rerouting flights out of Venezuelan airspace, and the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a warning about “increased military activity” in the area.
On Wednesday, Venezuela's civil aviation authority revoked takeoff and landing rights from six commercial carriers it accused of “joining the activities of state terrorism promoted by the US government and unilaterally suspending commercial air travel.”
On Thursday, Trump said the US could launch an attack “very soon” alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers on land, expanding operations that have so far focused on ships in the Caribbean.
In a Thanksgiving address to U.S. troops around the world, Trump thanked the Air Force's 7th Bomb Wing for its work “containing Venezuelan drug traffickers” and said that “about 85 percent of them have been stopped by sea… and we'll start stopping them on land.”
“Also, the land is easier, but that will start very soon,” the president added, speaking from his Mar-a-Lago estate.
For months, the president has been beefing up the U.S. military presence in the region, increasing pressure on Venezuela by striking suspected drug vessels since early September. The military has carried out nearly two dozen known strikes on ships that officials say were carrying drugs, killing at least 82 people.
USS Gerald R. Ford, large aircraft carrier, arrived in the Caribbean Last week saw the end of a US military build-up in the region that had not happened for decades.
Last week, the US also designated the Cartel de los Soles, a group that Washington says is controlled by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduroas a foreign terrorist organization.
Maduro denies involvement in the drug trade and has accused the US of “fabricating” a war against him.
Catherine Doyle contributed.
