President Donald Trump on Saturday morning announced the airspace “ABOVE AND SURROUNDING” Venezuela has been “CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY” — a move that comes as the president has been threatening a military operation against the country and its leader Nicolás Maduro.
Here is the text of the president’s full post on Truth Social:
To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP
The warning to drug dealers comes as the Trump Administration has been striking suspected drug running boats from Venezuela and other Latin American countries; the U.S. has conducted more than 20 of those operations in the past few months, with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth saying three “narco-terrorists” were killed in a strike two weeks ago.
Trump has claimed Maduro is the head of the alleged smuggling operation the United States is targeting. Maduro took office in January despite big questions about the legitimacy of his victory. His opposition reviewed tally sheets from 80% of voting machines and counted twice as many votes for Edmundo González. The U.S.-based Carter Center confirmed that tally was legitimate.
The president, The New York Times reported on Friday, spoke to Maduro on the phone last week and the two discussed a potential meeting, although one was not scheduled.
NYT in October reported Maduro
Trump’s move to block the airspace above Venezuela on Saturday would seem to indicate the relationship is not warming up. The president, The Miami Herald reported last month, has plans to strike Venezuelan military sites “at any moment,” and Trump reportedly authorized covert CIA operations in the country as well. Trump later clarified he had not made any decision about strikes on the country.
The Department of Justice is also offering a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest and/or conviction.
Trump, during an interview with 60 Minutes in early November, said “I doubt” a war with Venezuela will happen; when asked if Maduro’s days as president were numbered, he said “I would say yeah. I think so, yeah.”
Fox News contributor Dan Hoffman said a land invasion “could” happen, when asked by Fox News host Kevin Corke about the president’s approach to Venezuela on Saturday. Hoffman said shutting down Venezuelan airspace shows the president is looking at a “number of options” on how to handle Maduro.
Watch above via Fox News.