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Tensions between Washington and Caracas intensified on Saturday after United States President Donald Trump announced that all airspace connected to Venezuela should be regarded as completely shut.
In a message posted on X, Trump addressed what he called “all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” urging them to heed his directive.
“Please consider the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela to be closed in its entirety,” he wrote.
Venezuela has not yet issued an official reaction to the statement.
The declaration follows months of stepped-up US military activity targeting what American officials describe as drug trafficking operations linked to Venezuela.
US forces have carried out a series of lethal strikes on boats accused of smuggling narcotics, actions that have reportedly killed dozens.
The campaign has drawn international scrutiny. UN experts have labelled the strikes extrajudicial killings, and the controversy has strained relations between the US and the United Kingdom.
London recently halted intelligence sharing with Washington after concluding it did not want to be “complicit in the killings” or associated with operations it believed exceeded the original mandate for cooperation.
Trump hinted last week that American operations could soon expand. He said the US might “very soon” begin pursuing suspected Venezuelan traffickers on land.
President Nicolás Maduro dismissed the threats, insisting his government would not yield to pressure.
Earlier in August, the US doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, accusing him of being “one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world.” The bounty rose from $25 million to $50 million.
AFP
