“To all airlines, pilots, drug traffickers and human traffickers: please consider the airspace over and around Venezuela completely closed. Thank you for your attention!” – wrote US President Donald Trump on his Truth Social social networking site on Saturday.
The article continues below the video
What controversial words did Donald Trump say about Venezuela?
How did the Venezuelan government react to Trump's tweet?
What did the warning issued by the FAA say?
What suggested actions regarding Venezuela did Trump discuss?
The Venezuelan government greeted these words with indignation, emphasizing that it was a “colonial threat” to sovereignty and a violation of international law. He also demands respect for the country's airspace. The statement noted that Venezuela will not accept orders or threats from other countries.
The Venezuelan government also said it was “unilaterally suspending” deportation flights for migrants in response to Trump's words.
A warning (NOTAM) for planes flying over Venezuela was issued a week earlier by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It ordered airmen to use caution when flying through the region that includes Venezuela and parts of the Caribbean Sea at all altitudes due to the “deteriorating security situation and increased military activity in and around Venezuela.” The official reason given at the time was Venezuelan military exercises and disruption of navigation systems.
Tensions between the US and Venezuela. Threats of military intervention
Trump's announcement comes against the backdrop of repeated suggestions of possible military intervention in the country and strikes against drug cartels. During a Thursday Thanksgiving phone call with troops, Trump suggested those strikes would begin soon.
— In recent weeks, you have been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many. Of course, there aren't that many coming by sea anymore, Trump said, referring to the campaign of attacks on boats suspected of carrying drugs. – You've probably noticed that people don't want to deliver by sea and soon we'll start keeping them on land too – he added.
According to the New York Times, Trump has talked in recent days by phone with the leader of the country, Nicolas Maduro, whose rule Washington and many Western countries consider illegal.
According to the daily, during the conversation a potential meeting of the leaders in the US was discussed, but no specific plans were made. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, considered the main proponent of attacks on Venezuela, was also expected to participate in the conversation.
The conversation took place at the end of the week, a few days before the decision of the US Department of State to recognize the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) as a terrorist organization came into force. According to the authorities in Washington, its members include: high-ranking officials of the Venezuelan government, and the group is to be headed by the country's leader, Maduro. Already in 2020, the US prosecutor's office announced formal charges against Maduro in this case.
Caracas categorically denies these allegations and claims that the accusations of involvement in drug trafficking are a pretext for a violent change of power in Venezuela and taking control of Venezuelan oil deposits.
