President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela should be considered closed "in its entirety," in a message posted on Truth Social that comes amid a U.S. campaign targeting alleged drug-trafficking networks linked to the government of Nicolás Maduro.
President Donald Trump on Saturday issued a stark warning about Venezuela's skies, writing on his Truth Social account that the airspace above and around the country should be treated as off limits.
“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” Trump wrote. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The message, reported by outlets including the Daily Wire, TIME and NBC News, comes as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on President Nicolás Maduro’s government over alleged drug trafficking and steps up military activity in the Caribbean.
U.S. forces have carried out a series of strikes on boats in the Caribbean that Washington says were used by drug traffickers operating from Venezuela. Axios has reported that 21 U.S. strikes on drug boats in the region have killed at least 83 people, while TIME has cited administration figures placing the death toll at at least 80.
During a Thanksgiving call with U.S. service members this week, Trump signaled that operations could soon expand onto Venezuelan territory. “In recent weeks, you’ve been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many. Of course, there aren’t too many coming in by sea anymore,” he said, according to remarks cited by CNN and summarized by TIME. “You probably noticed that people aren’t wanting to be delivering by sea, and we’ll be starting to stop them by land also. The land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon.” Trump added, “We warn them: Stop sending poison to our country.”
The president and senior officials have framed the campaign as part of a broader effort to curb the flow of narcotics into the United States while also pressing for Maduro’s departure from power. Trump has publicly portrayed the Venezuelan leader as intertwined with organized crime. The Daily Wire reports that he has described Maduro as a leader of the Cartel de Los Soles, and notes that the U.S. State Department designated that group a foreign terrorist organization in a notice published in the Federal Register on November 16.
Amid the escalating tensions, multiple outlets, including The New York Times and Forbes, have reported that Trump recently spoke by phone with Maduro about the possibility of meeting in the United States — a contact that would mark a rare, high-level exchange between the two leaders after years of open hostility.
Trump’s social media post about Venezuela’s airspace followed earlier comments on regional politics. In a separate Truth Social message about elections in Honduras, the Daily Wire reports that he voiced support for National Party candidate Nasry Asfura, known as Tito Asfura, and warned that allies of Maduro could extend their influence there. “Will Maduro and his Narcoterrorists take over another country like they have taken over Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela?” Trump wrote. “The man who is standing up for Democracy, and fighting against Maduro, is Tito Asfura, the Presidential Candidate of the National Party.”
Aviation regulators and industry groups have stressed that only Venezuela can formally close its own airspace, and that Trump’s statement does not in itself constitute a binding flight ban. However, his comments have added to concerns among airlines and insurers already responding to U.S. government advisories. The Federal Aviation Administration recently warned carriers to exercise caution in Venezuelan airspace, citing a “worsening security situation” and “heightened military activity” in and around the country, and several airlines have rerouted flights to avoid the area.
As of Saturday, flight-tracking data still showed some aircraft crossing Venezuelan territory, even as the Trump administration signaled it is prepared to expand its operations from the sea to land and to further tighten the country’s isolation.
