US President Donald Trump warns Venezuela’s airspace is “closed,” raising fears of military action amid escalating Caribbean tensions
PALM BEACH: US President Donald Trump dramatically escalated tensions with Venezuela by declaring the country’s airspace “closed” in its entirety.
“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” Trump wrote on social media, “please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Venezuela’s foreign ministry condemned the warning as a “colonialist threat” and “new extravagant, illegal, and unjustified aggression against the people of Venezuela.”
The statement warned that airspace disruptions would halt repatriation flights of Venezuelan migrants from the United States, a key Trump administration initiative.
Trump’s warning follows months of deadly US strikes on alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean region.
Speculation is mounting that Washington may launch military operations on Venezuelan soil after Trump said efforts to halt Venezuelan drug trafficking “by land” would begin “very soon.”
Venezuela’s military conducted exercises along coastal areas on Saturday, with state television broadcasting video of antiaircraft weapons and artillery maneuvers.
A steady US military buildup in the region has seen the world’s largest aircraft carrier move to the Caribbean alongside repeated fighter jet and bomber flights off Venezuela’s coast.
Despite the hostile rhetoric, US media reported that Trump and Maduro spoke last week about a potential meeting and possible amnesty conditions if Maduro stepped down.
Congressional leaders from both parties expressed anger that Trump hasn’t sought legislative approval for potential military action.
“President Trump’s reckless actions towards Venezuela are pushing America closer and closer to another costly foreign war,” Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said.
Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene echoed that “Congress has the sole power to declare war.”
However, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham supported Trump’s approach, suggesting Maduro should flee to “Turkey and Iran.”
Trump also faces congressional investigation over reports the US military launched a second missile at survivors of a September strike on an alleged drug boat.
Legal experts say the strike could amount to a war crime, with at least 83 people killed in US anti-trafficking operations since September.
Washington has yet to release evidence that targeted vessels were used for drug smuggling or posed threats to the United States. – AFP
