ALBAWABA - On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Venezuelan airspace should be treated as completely closed. This was a strong warning to airlines and criminal networks as Washington puts more pressure on President Nicolás Maduro's government.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, "To all airlines, pilots, drug traffickers, and human smugglers: The airspace over and around Venezuela will be completely closed."
The declaration comes at a time when the U.S. is building up its military presence in the Caribbean, including sending the world's largest aircraft carrier there. The U.S. says the operation is meant to stop drug trafficking, but Venezuelan officials say the U.S. wants to change the government and take control of the country's oil resources.
U.S. Military Actions at Sea
Since the beginning of September, U.S. forces have attacked more than 20 ships in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific, saying they were involved in drug trafficking. According to reports from the U.S., the operations have killed more than 80 people.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the military activity by saying that U.S. and international law allow operations to continue in the area.
Cuba Speaks Out Against U.S. Actions
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said that Washington was becoming more aggressive toward Venezuela in response to the events. He said that U.S. military deployments have caused electromagnetic interference in Caribbean airspace, which has hurt Venezuela's aviation systems the most. Rodríguez said that the pressure campaign was part of a larger plan to bring down Maduro's government.
There was a phone call between Trump and Maduro.
The New York Times said that Trump and Maduro talked on the phone last week about the possibility of meeting in the United States. There are no plans yet, but this meeting would be the first of its kind. No Venezuelan leader has ever met directly with a sitting U.S. president.
The report came out one day after Trump promised to stop drug trafficking by land as well, which made things even more tense.
Airline Warnings and Venezuela's Reaction
Last week, U.S. aviation regulators told major airlines that flying over Venezuela could be "potentially dangerous" because security is getting worse and the military is becoming more active.
After the warning, Venezuela took away the operating rights of six major international airlines that had already stopped flying to the country.
