Overview
- Trump’s Truth Social post instructed airlines, pilots, drug dealers, and human traffickers to treat the airspace above and around Venezuela as closed “in its entirety.”
- U.S. officials told Reuters they were not briefed on enforcing any closure, and the Pentagon provided no immediate details.
- Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry condemned the statement as a hostile, unilateral act and urged the United Nations and other countries to reject it.
- Flight risks had already escalated after an FAA advisory, leading major airlines to suspend routes, and Caracas responded by revoking their operating rights.
- The U.S. campaign now features a carrier strike group and more than 20 lethal strikes on suspected drug boats that killed over 80 people, as Trump signals land operations “very soon” and expands tools with a terrorist designation and CIA covert authorization.