Trump Declares Venezuela’s Airspace “Closed in Its Entirety” as Tensions Rise

President Trump said Saturday that Venezuela’s airspace should be considered “closed in its entirety,” as he weighs military action against the country, NBC News, NPR and Al Jazeera reported, and Venezuela’s government rejected the claim.

“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, according to NBC News, NPR and Al Jazeera. Venezuela’s government rejected the claim, calling it a “colonialist threat” to the country’s sovereignty, according to NPR and Al Jazeera; NBC News reported the Foreign Ministry also called it “a hostile, unilateral and arbitrary act.” NPR (later source, Nov. 30) said the statement argued that “no authority outside the Venezuelan institutional framework has the power to interfere with, block, or condition the use of international airspace” and that the post violates international law.

It was not clear what practical effect the post would have. NBC News reported that flight-tracking data appeared to show a handful of planes still over Venezuela on Saturday morning, and NPR said Flightradar24 still showed planes in Venezuelan airspace Sunday afternoon (later source). The Federal Aviation Administration has warned of “heightened military activity” in the area, NBC News and Al Jazeera reported. Six airlines suspended flights to Venezuela, and Caracas withdrew their operating rights, accusing them of joining “state terrorism,” according to NBC News and Al Jazeera.

The post follows a series of escalatory remarks. On Thursday, Mr. Trump said the U.S. could “very soon” begin targeting alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers on land, expanding operations that have so far focused on boats in the Caribbean, NBC News and Al Jazeera reported. In Thanksgiving remarks to troops he said it is “about 85% stopped by sea” and that the U.S. would be starting to stop traffickers by land, according to NBC News and Al Jazeera.

The administration says its military buildup is a counterdrug campaign, while Venezuela says Washington is trying to force out President Nicolas Maduro, according to NBC News and NPR coverage of the standoff. NPR reported (later source) that the military has carried out at least 21 strikes on alleged drug boats that have killed at least 82 people, and Al Jazeera reported more than 20 strikes with at least 83 killed.