Venezuela calls Trump airspace closure warning ‘colonialist threat’
Venezuela accused US President Donald Trump of making a “colonial threat” after he said the airspace around the country should be considered closed.
The country’s foreign ministry called Trump’s comments “yet another exaggerated, illegal and unfair attack against the Venezuelan people.”
The United States does not have the legal authority to close another country’s airspace, but Trump’s online post could create travel uncertainty and deter airlines from operating there.
The United States is building up its military presence in the Caribbean to combat authorities’ drug trafficking. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has dismissed US allegations of drug trafficking as an attempt to oust him.
“All Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers and Human Traffickers, please consider a COMPLETE CLOSURE OF THE OVERHEAD AIRSPACE AND THE VENEZUELA SURROUNDINGS,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
The White House did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment.
Trump’s comments came just days after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned airlines about “increased military activity in and around Venezuela.”
On Wednesday, Venezuela banned six major international airlines – Iberia, TAP Portugal, Gol, Latam, Avianca and Turkish Airlines – from landing there after they failed to meet a 48-hour deadline to resume flights.
The United States has deployed the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald Ford, and nearly 15,000 of its troops within striking distance of Venezuela.
He insisted that the largest deployment in the region since the US invaded Panama in 1989 was to combat drug trafficking.
Trump on Thursday warned that U.S. efforts to stop drug trafficking “on the ground” in Venezuela would begin “very soon.”
US forces launched at least 21 attacks on boats they claimed were carrying drugs, leaving more than 80 people dead. However, the United States did not provide evidence that the boats were carrying drugs.
The Venezuelan government believes the purpose of the US action is to remove Maduro, whose re-election last year was condemned as fraudulent by the Venezuelan opposition and many foreign countries.
The United States has also designated the Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns (a group allegedly led by Maduro), as a foreign terrorist organization.
Labeling an organization as a terrorist group gives U.S. law enforcement and military agencies broader authority to target and dismantle it.
Venezuela’s foreign ministry “categorically, unequivocally and emphatically rejected” the appointment.
Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s interior and justice minister, who is alleged to be a high-ranking member of the cartel, has long called it an “invention.”
The US state department insisted that the Cartel de los Soles not only exists but also “corrupts Venezuela’s military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary.”
