President Donald Trump announced Saturday that airlines and pilots should consider closing airspace over Venezuela.
In a post on Truth Social, President said“To all airlines, pilots, drug dealers and human traffickers, please consider the AIR SPACE OVER AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA COMPLETELY CLOSED. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.”
In 2019, American passenger and cargo carriers suspended direct flights to the country under a socialist dictatorship, according to Fox Business. However, the article said some planes still fly over it.
Trump speaks to military personnel on Thanksgiving Day said that ground strikes on Venezuela would begin “very soon” as part of the administration’s efforts “to contain Venezuelan drug traffickers.”
Hill reported:
“In recent weeks, you have worked to contain Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many,” Trump told troops during a Thanksgiving address. “Of course, there are not many people on the sea anymore.”
“You've probably noticed that people don't want to ship goods by sea, and we'll start stopping them by land,” he continued.
“Earth is simpler, but it will start very soon. We warn them: stop sending poison to our country,” Trump added.
Trump recently stated that negotiations with Venezuela's socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro were possible, and Maduro wanted to participate, Breitbart News reports:
In October, Trump said Maduro had offered “everything” to stay in power when asked about rumors that Maduro and his subordinates were reaching out to the administration.
“He offered everything, you're right. Do you know why? Because he doesn't want to get involved with the United States,” Trump said.
On Monday, U.S. officials appointed Venezuela's Cartel de los Soles has been designated a foreign terrorist organization, UPI reported, noting that the cartel “is a decentralized network of Venezuelan government and military officials who engage in drug trafficking.”
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gives a speech while holding the “Sword of Peru” of Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar during a military ceremony in Fuerte Tiuna, Caracas, November 25, 2025. (Photo by Federico PARRA/AFP via Getty Images)
The Trump administration is working to secure US borders from drug smugglers by boat. Breitbart News reported on October 4:
Under direct orders from President Donald Trump, U.S. forces carried out a fatal strike early Friday on a drug smuggling vessel linked to designated terrorist organizations in international waters near Venezuela. The operation killed four male narco-terrorists and intercepted a large drug shipment bound for the United States, reinforcing the administration's aggressive stance against transnational threats to national security.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth reported an attack on a ship by Venezuelan terrorists transporting drugs. The Secretary of State stated: “Our intelligence confirmed without a doubt that this vessel was transporting drugs, the people on board were narco-terrorists, and they were operating on a known drug transit route. These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people stop!!!!”
Video materials show the moment when the ship broke into pieces:
Regarding Trump's recent statement regarding Venezuelan airspace, international airlines have begun cancellation flights into the country as US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials warned of risks, the Associated Press (AP) reported Sunday.
