The government of Venezuela has accused U.S. President Donald Trump of issuing a “colonialist threat” following his assertion that the airspace surrounding the nation should be deemed closed.
Venezuela’s foreign ministry characterized Trump’s statement as “an additional extravagant, unlawful, and unjustified act of aggression against the Venezuelan populace.”
While the U.S. lacks legal authority to restrict airspace over a sovereign nation, Trump’s social media comments could possibly create travel unpredictability and dissuade airlines from flying to the region.
Recently, the U.S. has expanded its military footprint in the Caribbean, citing the need to combat drug trafficking. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has disregarded these U.S. allegations, suggesting they serve as a pretext to remove him from power.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump declared: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
The White House has yet to respond to requests for clarification regarding Trump’s comments.
His remarks followed a notification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which alerted airlines to the potential for “increased military activity in and around Venezuela.”
On Wednesday, Venezuela prohibited six prominent international airlines – Iberia, TAP Portugal, Gol, Latam, Avianca, and Turkish Airlines – from landing after they did not comply with a 48-hour ultimatum to resume operations.
The U.S. has dispatched the USS Gerald Ford, the globe’s largest aircraft carrier, along with approximately 15,000 troops, to sites near Venezuela.
Officials claim that this deployment, the most substantial by the U.S. in the area since the Panama invasion in 1989, aims to address drug trafficking.
On Thursday, Trump issued a warning that U.S. initiatives to curb Venezuelan drug trafficking “by land” were set to commence “very soon.”
U.S. forces have conducted no fewer than 21 operations against vessels they allege were transporting illicit drugs, resulting in over 80 fatalities. Nevertheless, the U.S. has not supplied proof that these vessels were indeed carrying narcotics.
The Venezuelan administration contends that the true intent behind U.S. actions is to oust President Maduro, whose re-election last year was condemned by both domestic opposition groups and numerous foreign governments as fraudulent.
The U.S. has designated the Cartel de los Soles, a group it claims is led by Maduro, as a foreign terrorist organization.
This classification grants U.S. law enforcement and military entities wider authority to target and dismantle the organization.
Venezuela’s foreign ministry has “categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejected” this classification.
Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s interior and justice minister, who is reputed to be a prominent member of the cartel, has long labeled the cartel an “invention.”
The U.S. state department has maintained that the Cartel de los Soles not only exists but has also “corrupted Venezuela’s military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary.”
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