Venezuela’s government on Saturday strongly condemned a statement by U.S. President Donald Trump declaring the airspace above and surrounding the country closed in its entirety.
The foreign ministry described the assertion as a “colonialist threat” incompatible with international law and an attack on Venezuelan sovereignty.
It labeled the move “another extravagant, illegal and unjustified aggression against the Venezuelan people.”
In an official statement, Caracas “categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejected” both Trump’s airspace declaration and the recent U.S. designation of the Cartel de los Soles — alleged by Washington to be headed by President Nicolás Maduro — as a foreign terrorist organization.
Interior and Justice Minister Diosdado Cabello, accused by the U.S. of involvement in the cartel, has long dismissed the group as an “invention.”
The Venezuelan government views the airspace warning and ongoing U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean as part of a broader effort to overthrow Maduro, whose 2024 re-election was widely denounced as fraudulent by the opposition and numerous foreign governments.
The sharp rebuke follows Trump’s Truth Social post addressed “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” with no additional details provided.
It coincides with a U.S. military deployment including the USS Gerald Ford carrier group, heightened FAA warnings to airlines, and Venezuela’s own ban on six major international carriers for failing to resume flights.
Caracas maintains that Washington lacks legal authority to close another nation’s airspace and insists the U.S. actions violate international norms.