Trump Says Venezuelan Airspace Closed Off
President Donald Trump on Saturday warned airlines and pilots to stay away from Venezuelan skies.
“To all airlines, pilots, drug traffickers and human traffickers, please consider that the airspace over and around Venezuela is closed in its entirety,” Trump said on Truth Social.
The declaration follows weeks of military buildup in Latin American waters. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, now patrols the region alongside F-35 fighter jets, spy planes and warships.
Since September, the Defense Department has struck ships suspected of transporting narcotics to U.S. shores as part of “Operation Southern Spear.” These strikes left more than 80 dead. (RELATED: Drug hotspot on Venezuelan coast reeling from Trump strikes)
Trump told troops Thursday that ground operations would follow.
“You’ve probably noticed that people don’t want to deliver by sea, and we’re going to start stopping them by land as well,” he said. “The land is easier, but it will start very soon. We warn them: stop sending poison to our country.”
The administration accuses Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading the Cartel de los Soles. U.S. officials recently labeled the organization a foreign terrorist group and called Maduro an “illegitimate leader.”
The FAA urged pilots to “exercise caution” near Venezuelan airspace, citing a “worsening security situation and increased military activity.”
