Trump orders airspace shutdown over Venezuela
Shafaq News – Washington / Caracas
US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday the closure of airspace above Venezuela and surrounding regions “in its entirety.”
“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 on Truth Social.
He had earlier said the United States is preparing new actions against drug-smuggling networks in Venezuela, indicating that ground operations would begin “very soon.”
Caracas has not yet commented.
The airspace closure follows months of US strikes on boats Washington says are used by traffickers in Caribbean and Eastern Pacific waters. As of November 15, at least 83 people had been killed in 21 strikes on 22 vessels, according to official US data.
On October 31, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the strikes violate international law and urged Washington to halt the operations.
Under “Operation Southern Spear,” the Pentagon has deployed more than a dozen warships, 15,000 troops, and the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the region. President Nicolas Maduro, in turn, called on Venezuelans to prepare for a possible “armed struggle” and mobilized 200,000 military personnel.
