US President Donald Trump declared that Venezuela's airspace should be considered 'completely closed.' In a message posted on the social network Truth, he stated: 'We ask all airlines, pilots, drug traffickers, and human traffickers to please be aware that the airspace over Venezuela and its surroundings will remain completely closed.'
During a telephone call with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Trump reiterated his political decision to end the drug cartels that allegedly operate under the protection of the Miraflores Palace. The US leader also established that Maduro and other key figures of the regime, who benefited from illegal activities and established a repressive system that systematically violates human rights, must leave Venezuela.
This declaration comes as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on Venezuela with a significant military deployment in the Caribbean, which includes the world's largest aircraft carrier. Over the past weekend, Trump held a phone call with Maduro to warn him that the United States would multiply military actions if he does not leave Caracas in the short term. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio participated in the conversation.
The Venezuelan government described the US decision to impose restrictions on the country's airspace as an 'extravagant aggression.' In an official statement, Caracas rejected Washington's attempt to 'extraterritorially' apply its jurisdiction to condition the use of Venezuelan airspace. 'We make a direct call to the international community, to the sovereign governments of the world, to the UN, and to the corresponding multilateral organizations to firmly reject this immoral act of aggression, which constitutes a threat to the sovereignty and security of our Homeland, the Caribbean, and northern South America,' the text from the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry added.
Hours after the phone call with Maduro, the State Department confirmed that the Cartel of the Suns was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The decision to include the Cartel of the Suns in the FTO list opens the door to new political, economic, and military pressure measures in the region. This list, managed by the Department of State, grants Washington broad legal powers, for example, to impose sanctions, freeze assets, and prosecute any person or entity that collaborates with an included organization.
Rubio confirmed that the group 'is responsible for terrorist violence throughout the hemisphere,' and reiterated that Washington considers Maduro himself the leader of the criminal structure, but the Venezuelan government rejects these accusations and maintains that there is no public evidence linking it to drug trafficking networks.
Trump's declaration came at a time of maximum US military presence in the Caribbean. The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is leading an operation accompanied by more than a dozen ships, combat aircraft, and 12,000 personnel, aimed at combating drug trafficking organizations.
