US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela is to be completely closed. He made the statement warning drug dealers, human traffickers, airlines and pilots.
"To all airlines, pilots, drug dealers, and human traffickers, please consider the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela to be closed in its entirety," Trump said on X. The announcement comes as tensions between the US and Venezuela have ramped up over Trump’s “war on drugs.”
On Thursday, Trump announced that the United States will begin targeting Venezuelan drug trafficking “by land.”
His statement comes after weeks of US military deployments to the Latin American region, including an aircraft carrier group, stealth fighter jets, and thousands of troops, as Washington’s strikes on drug-trafficking vessels in international waters have killed dozens.
At least 21 operations have reportedly neutralised alleged drug traffickers and their boats, resulting in the deaths of more than 80 individuals accused of attempting to smuggle narcotics into the US.
Under Operation Southern Spear, some of the most advanced aircraft carriers have been deployed to the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific to intercept these illegal vessels.
