Trump declares that airspace around Venezuela should be considered closed

President Trump on Saturday said that the airspace surrounding Venezuela should be considered closed, ratcheting up tensions with the Maduro regime and offering yet another sign that he is considering striking targets on Venezuelan land.

“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 in a Truth Social post.

US officials were surprised by Trump’s announcement and are seemingly unaware of any ongoing US military operations to enforce a closure of Venezuelan airspace. The Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment and the White House did not provide any further explanation.

The Trump administration has been weighing options to combat Venezuelan President Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans. The socialist Venezuelan president has denied having any links to the illegal drug trade.

Reuters has reported that options under U.S. consideration included attempting to overthrow Maduro, and that the US military is poised for a new phase of operations after a massive military buildup in the Caribbean and nearly three months of strikes on suspected drug boats off Venezuela’s coast. Trump has also authorized covert CIA operations in the South American country.

Maduro, in power since 2013, has contended that Trump is seeking to oust him and that Venezuelan citizens and the military will resist any such attempt. Trump told military service members earlier this week that the U.S. would “very soon” begin land operations to stop suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers.

Maduro and high-ranking officials in his government, some combination of whom appear almost daily on state television, have decried what they call US imperialism in their recent comments, but do not single out Trump by name, as the Venezuelan government may be trying to de-escalate tensions, according to security and diplomatic sources.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously been the focus of Venezuelan government ire, but even references to him have decreased in recent weeks. President Trump’s announcement on Venezuela’s airspace followed a warning last week from the US Federal Aviation Administration that major airlines faced a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around” the country.

How much of this is posturing to pressure Maduro into more concessions related to drugs coming into the US, and how much of it is seriously preparing for a conflict remains to be seen.

It does not appear that there is a great deal of support for US military action against Venezuela amongst Trump’s base, and it still seems unlikely that Trump will actually launch a military operation.

But with President Donald Trump, nothing is off the table. Anything from a complete cessation of threats to a full on military engagement could be in the cards.