Donald Trump has announced the complete closure of the airspace over and around Venezuela amidst escalating concerns of potential conflict. In a message on Truth Social, Trump urged airlines, pilots, drug traffickers, and human traffickers to respect the airspace restrictions. Monitoring data indicates a significant reduction in air traffic over Venezuela, with no flights recorded over Caracas by midday. Venezuela has not yet responded to this development.
Speculations are mounting that Trump could utilize the substantial US military presence in the region, including troops, a nuclear submarine, and warships near the USS Gerald R Ford, to launch an offensive against Venezuela with the aim of removing President Nicolas Maduro.
This move follows a previous advisory from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) alerting airlines about potential risks when flying over Venezuela due to heightened military activities and security concerns in the area.
Venezuela’s civil aviation authority recently announced the revocation of flight permits for several international airlines, including Spain’s Iberia, Portugal’s TAP, Colombia’s Avianca, Chile’s and Brazil’s LATAM, Brazil’s Gol, and Turkish Airlines. The authority cited these airlines’ alleged involvement in “state terrorism” orchestrated by the US government.
Tensions between the US and Venezuela have surged alongside the US military buildup in South America and a series of military actions targeting vessels in international waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in the deaths of at least 83 individuals.
While the US claims the targeted boats were carrying drugs, critics, including Latin American leaders, legal experts, victims’ families, and some US lawmakers, have condemned the incidents as extrajudicial killings, asserting that most casualties were innocent fishermen.
Accusations of drug trafficking have been exchanged between the US and Maduro, with the Venezuelan president accusing the US government of fabricating a perpetual conflict against him. Maduro has also accused the US of escalating false pretexts to justify potential intervention in Venezuela.