By Tom Ozimek
President Donald Trump said on Nov. 29 that the airspace above and around Venezuela should be considered “closed in its entirety,” marking the latest development as the United States intensifies military and diplomatic pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist regime.
In a Nov. 29 post on Truth Social, Trump addressed “all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” telling them to “consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Trump offered no additional details, but the warning follows a series of U.S. military actions and escalating tensions with Caracas over narcotics trafficking and security operations in the Caribbean.
The United States has carried out at least 21 lethal strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels since September, killing more than 80 alleged traffickers aboard boats that U.S. officials say were ferrying narcotics northward. The USS Gerald R. Ford—the world’s largest aircraft carrier—arrived in the Caribbean on Nov. 16 to bolster the Pentagon’s counter-narcotics mission.
Trump signaled the possibility of expanded operations earlier this week, telling U.S. troops on Nov. 27 that American forces may soon conduct ground actions targeting drug-trafficking routes inside Venezuela. He praised the work of the Air Force’s 7th Bomb Wing in deterring maritime smuggling, saying traffickers have increasingly shifted away from sea routes.
“You probably noticed that people aren’t wanting to be delivering by sea, and we’ll be starting to stop them by land also,” the president said.
“The land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon. We’d warn them. Stop sending poison to our country.”
His remarks followed a three-day trip by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine to the U.S. Southern Command region, including meetings with leaders in Trinidad and Tobago about narcotics flows and human trafficking in the Caribbean.
Nearly a dozen U.S. warships and roughly 12,000 troops are currently deployed as part of “Operation Southern Spear,” one of the largest American force concentrations in the region in decades.
The Trump administration accuses the Maduro regime of being deeply involved in international narcotics trafficking and maintains ties with criminal networks such as the Cartel de los Soles, which Washington recently designated as a foreign terrorist organization. With that designation, Maduro was formally considered a member of a terrorist group and the leader of an international cocaine-smuggling racket. The Venezuelan leader has denied the allegations.
Venezuela’s foreign ministry has accused the U.S. of trying to manufacture a pretext for military escalation.
In September, Maduro sent a letter to Trump calling the drug-trafficking allegations “the most egregious instance of disinformation,” claiming that only a small fraction of Colombian-origin narcotics passed through Venezuela. The White House said the letter contained “a lot of lies.”
The aviation sector has become an early flashpoint amid rising U.S.-Venezuela tensions. Following a Nov. 21 warning from the Federal Aviation Administration about a “worsening security situation” in Venezuelan airspace, several international carriers suspended flights.
Venezuela responded by revoking the operating permits of six airlines—including Colombia’s Avianca, Brazil’s GOL, LATAM Airlines Colombia, Portugal’s TAP, Spain’s Iberia, and Turkish Airlines—accusing them of aiding “state terrorism” promoted by Washington.
The International Air Transport Association urged Caracas to reverse the suspensions, saying carriers were acting to protect passengers and crew in a “high-risk area.”
Trump’s latest statement that the airspace around Venezuela should be considered closed signals a further escalation of tensions. While Trump has said he remains open to talks with Maduro, he has also suggested that “the hard way” remains on the table.
“If we can save lives, we can do things the easy way, that’s fine,” Trump told reporters on Nov. 25.
“And if we have to do it the hard way, that’s fine, too.”
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