U.S. President Donald Trump issued a stark warning on November 29, declaring that airspace over and around Venezuela should be regarded as “fully closed,” in what marks the latest escalation in his ongoing confrontation with Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Trump delivered the message on his social media platform, Truth Social, stating:
“To all airlines, pilots, drug traffickers and human traffickers — please consider the AIRSPACE ABOVE AND AROUND VENEZUELA AS FULLY CLOSED.”
No additional details were provided by the president regarding enforcement or implementation.
The statement comes as the Trump administration intensifies its pressure campaign on Caracas through a major U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean, including the world’s largest aircraft carrier. Washington says the mission aims to curb narcotics trafficking, while the Maduro government insists the true objective is regime change.
According to U.S. officials, American forces have already carried out operations against more than 20 suspected Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean since early September, resulting in over 80 deaths.
Tensions in the region continue to rise amid the military buildup. The New York Times reported Friday that Trump and Maduro held a phone conversation last week and discussed a potential meeting in the United States — an extraordinary development given their hostile relations.
The revelations about the call emerged one day after Trump declared that ground operations would soon begin to halt narcotics trafficking from Venezuela, further fueling diplomatic friction with Caracas.
