Trump warns Venezuela airspace ‘closed’ as tensions spike
US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Nov 17, 2025. (File photo: Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump warned on Saturday (Nov 29) that the airspace above and near Venezuela should be considered closed, the latest escalation in a standoff with leftist leader Nicolas Maduro.
"To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network, "please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY."
The US president did not elaborate.
MILITARY BUILDUP INTENSIFIES
Trump’s administration is piling pressure on Venezuela, with a major US military deployment in the Caribbean that includes the world’s largest aircraft carrier. Washington says the aim is to curb drug trafficking, while Caracas insists Washington is pursuing regime change.
US forces have carried out strikes against more than 20 alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since early September, killing more than 80 people. AFP reported the toll as at least 83, and experts say the strikes amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers.
In recent days, aircraft tracking sites have recorded constant US fighter jet activity just a few dozen kilometres off Venezuela’s coast, highlighting the heightened military posture around the country.
Trump warned earlier this week that efforts to halt Venezuelan drug trafficking "by land" would begin "very soon", raising the stakes further as the US expands its campaign beyond maritime operations.
The Dominican Republic granted the United States permission to use airport facilities as part of its deployment, while Trinidad and Tobago recently hosted US Marine Corps exercises, adding to anxiety among Venezuela’s neighbours.
AVIATION DISRUPTIONS WIDEN
US aviation authorities last week urged civilian aircraft operating in Venezuelan airspace to “exercise caution” due to the “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela”.
That warning prompted six airlines that account for much of South American travel to suspend flights to Venezuela.
The move infuriated Caracas and led it to ban the companies, Spain’s Iberia, Portugal’s TAP, Colombia’s Avianca, Chile and Brazil’s LATAM, Brazil’s GOL and Turkish Airlines, for “joining the actions of state terrorism promoted by the United States government”.
MADURO SAYS ULTIMATE GOAL IS REGIME CHANGE
Leftist Maduro, whose re-election last year was widely rejected by the international community as fraudulent, has reacted defiantly, staging military exercises and mass rallies aimed at projecting strength.
The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump and Maduro had spoken by phone last week and discussed a possible meeting in the United States, a revelation that surprised diplomats and added an unexpected twist to the tense standoff.
The report came a day after Trump again said efforts to halt Venezuelan drug trafficking by land were imminent, further ratcheting up tensions with Caracas.
