Venezuela Slams Trump’s “Closure” of Its Airspace as "Colonial Threat"

President Donald Trump said that the airspace “above and surrounding” Venezuela should be considered “closed in its entirety,” an assertion that raised more questions about U.S. pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who accused Trump of making a “colonial threat” and seeking to undermine the South American country’s sovereignty, Josh Boak and Gabriela Molina reported for the Associated Press (AP).

More than 80 people have been killed in the Caribbean strikes since early September. (Photo: U.S. Southern Command)

The White House did not respond to questions about what Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, and it was unclear whether he was announcing a new policy or simply reinforcing the messaging around his campaign against Maduro, which has involved multiple strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean on small boats accused of ferrying drugs, as well as a buildup of naval forces in the region.

More than 80 people have been killed in such strikes since early September.

The Republican president addressed his call for an aerial blockade to “Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” rather than to Maduro.

Venezuela’s government said it “forcefully rejects” Trump’s claim about closing the airspace and that it was a “colonial threat” intended to undermine the country’s “territorial integrity, aeronautical security and full sovereignty.”

The Foreign Ministry said “such declarations constitute a hostile, unilateral and arbitrary act.”