TRUMP says Venezuela airspace should be considered ‘closed in its entirety’ amid rising tensions with NICOLÁS MADURO’s government.

Sunday, November 30, 2025 -US President Donald Trump on Saturday, November 29, warned that the airspace above and near Venezuela should now be considered closed, issuing a blunt message amid rising tensions with Nicolás Maduro’s government. 

“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, “please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.” 

He gave no further explanation, but the declaration comes as his administration intensifies pressure on Caracas with a significant US military deployment in the Caribbean that includes the world’s largest aircraft carrier.

Washington insists the buildup is aimed at curbing drug trafficking, while Venezuela maintains that the true objective is regime change. Since early September, US forces have struck more than 20 alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, killing more than 80 people, though Washington has not released evidence showing the boats were being used for narcotics trafficking or posed a threat to the United States.

The campaign, alongside the expanding military presence, has sharply escalated regional tension. US aviation authorities warned civilian aircraft last week to “exercise caution” when flying over Venezuelan airspace due to the “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela.” That advisory prompted six major airlines—Spain’s Iberia, Portugal’s TAP, Colombia’s Avianca, Chile and Brazil’s LATAM, Brazil’s GOL, and Turkish Airlines, to suspend all flights to Venezuela.

Caracas reacted angrily, banning the airlines and accusing them of “joining the actions of state terrorism promoted by the United States government.” The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump and Maduro had spoken by phone the previous week and had even discussed a potential meeting in the United States. The claim surfaced one day after Trump warned that efforts to halt Venezuelan drug trafficking by land were imminent, further raising the temperature in an already volatile standoff.