Trump declares Venezuela airspace 'closed in its entirety' as tensions with US escalate

President Donald Trump jolted an already-tense standoff with Venezuela on Saturday morning, declaring on his Truth Social account that all airspace “above and surrounding Venezuela” should be considered “closed in its entirety.”

Addressing “Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” he offered no operational details but warned that the directive required immediate attention. The statement landed amid a rapid escalation in U.S. military posture toward Caracas and mounting fears of conflict across the Caribbean.

“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!,” Trump wrote.

Trump’s declaration capped a week in which his administration signaled it is preparing a more assertive phase of operations targeting Venezuela’s so-called Cartel de los Soles, which according to Washington is headed by strongman Nicolás Maduro and top members of his regime.

On Thursday, the president announced that U.S. military actions — until now focused on sinking speedboats suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean — would soon move onto Venezuelan territory. Speaking to service members during a Thanksgiving call, he said the U.S. armed forces would “very soon” begin land-based efforts to disrupt what he characterized as Venezuelan drug-trafficking networks.

He said maritime operations had already destroyed more than 20 vessels and resulted in more than 80 deaths since Sept. 1, claiming the United States had halted “85%” of the maritime flow. Venezuelan groups, he said, were “sending poison” northward that kills “thousands of people a year.”

Despite the sharper rhetoric and growing U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, quiet diplomatic contacts have taken place between Washington and Caracas in recent days, according to news reports. Whether those conversations can restrain the accelerating confrontation remains unclear.

Washington has simultaneously sought to expand its legal authority. On Monday, the State Department formally designated the Cartel de los Soles a Foreign Terrorist Organization, placing Maduro, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López in the same legal category as leaders of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

The designation, published in the Federal Register, is seen as an instrument that grants the administration new latitude to take military action without additional congressional approval.

Analysts say the move is sweeping in scope. Because U.S. officials argue that the cartel operates from within the Venezuelan state, the designation effectively treats the Maduro government as part of a terrorist network.

Experts note the measure could allow the administration to invoke the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, the law underpinning most U.S. counterterrorism operations over the past two decades. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the designation “opens up a lot of new options,” and Trump has suggested it could permit strikes on Venezuelan assets and infrastructure. He has also said he remains open to negotiation.

Caracas denounced the move, calling it a false pretext for foreign intervention and insisting the cartel is an American invention. “It is foolish for the Venezuelan government to waste part of its valuable governing time responding to these slanders and calumnies,” the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said Monday, adding that Venezuelans remained “united and cohesive” and were preparing for Christmas festivities.

The expanding U.S. legal framework has coincided with a significant buildup of military hardware near Venezuela’s borders. For more than two months, American naval and air assets have surged into the Caribbean, including the Nov. 16 arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford — the world’s largest aircraft carrier. At least 10 additional warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 fighter jets are also deployed. U.S. commanders say the missions support counter-narcotics operations, but regional observers note the level of firepower far exceeds typical interdiction activity.

Inside Venezuela, the sense of crisis has deepened. Maduro has repeatedly claimed the United States is attempting to overthrow him, and in recent days his government has urged citizens and the armed forces to prepare for “prolonged resistance” should an invasion occur.

Defense Minister Padrino accused Washington of staging provocations, citing U.S. military exercises in neighboring Trinidad and Tobago. “No threat, no air-naval deployment, however powerful or intimidating, can take away Venezuela’s right to continue on its path of freedom and independence,” he said recently on state television.

Beyond the military realm, the rising tension has triggered swift regional consequences. Concerned about the security situation in the Caribbean, six airlines suspended their routes to Venezuela over the weekend after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a warning urging aircraft to “exercise extreme caution” in and around Venezuelan airspace. Iberia of Spain, Portugal’s TAP, Colombia’s Avianca, Trinidad and Tobago’s Caribbean Airlines, Brazil’s GOL and Chile’s LATAM halted flights, said Marisela de Loaiza, president of the Venezuelan Association of Airlines. She provided no timeline for the resumption of service.

The FAA cited “worsening security conditions and increased military activity” in the region and warned that the risks “could pose a potential danger to aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight, arrival and departure phases, and to airports and aircraft on the ground.”

Human rights groups have raised alarms over the lethality of recent U.S. maritime interdictions. Since early September, U.S. forces have carried out at least 21 strikes against suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, leaving at least 83 people dead. Advocacy organizations describe the killings as extrajudicial, while some regional governments worry Washington may be operating close to — or beyond — international legal boundaries.