Caracas has declared that any assault targeting its airlines would be considered an act of aggression
Venezuela has condemned US President Donald Trump’s proposition to close its airspace, characterizing it as an unlawful “colonialist” assault on its national sovereignty.
On Saturday, Trump, who alleges that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro heads a drug cartel, escalated his warnings targeting “narcoterrorists.” He posted on his Truth Social platform: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
These remarks were made concurrently with a US military reinforcement near Venezuela’s coastlines and operations against suspected cartel vessels in international waters.
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry released a statement denouncing “the colonialist threat designed to compromise the sovereignty of its airspace.”
The statement asserted: “This specific kind of declaration represents a hostile, unilateral, and arbitrary action, which is inconsistent with the most fundamental tenets of international law.”
Trump has consistently declined to dismiss the possibility of military actions within Venezuelan territory, and he suggested during his Thanksgiving address to service members that attacks might occur imminently.
Maduro has repudiated any affiliations with cartels and cautioned Washington against initiating “a crazy war” in the area. Prior to this, he had put the armed forces on elevated alert and conducted multiple exercises.
The US Federal Aviation Administration previously alerted airlines about a “potentially hazardous situation” for flights traversing Venezuelan airspace. In response, Caracas proceeded to suspend operations for six international airlines.