President Trump suggests Venezuela’s airspace is ‘closed’ as airstrikes intensify
President Trump has issued a warning to avoid Venezuelan airspace as his administration steps up attacks on drug lords.
President Donald Trump has issued a warning to avoid Venezuelan airspace as his administration steps up attacks on drug lords.
In a Nov. 29 social media post, the president directed “all airlines, pilots, drug traffickers, and human traffickers” to stay away from the flight zone “over and around” the South American country, which is considering a ground attack.
Tensions in the region are rising amid speculation that the Trump administration could overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has been named the leader of the Cartel de los Soles, which the State Department considers a foreign terrorist organization.
The United States has its largest aircraft carrier, two guided missile destroyers and a special operations ship near Venezuela, and about 12,000 troops are stationed in the region.
President Trump has no authority over Venezuelan airspace and did not provide details of any action in his Truth Social post. But he has hinted this week that he plans to expand a controversial boat strike against suspected drug traffickers, a message on Nov. 29 that could block flights to and from foreign countries.
“We’re going to start stopping them from the ground as well,” President Trump said in a phone call with military officials. “It’s easier on land, but that will start soon.”
Mr. Trump and his allies have defended the move as a way to stem the flow of illegal drugs, particularly fentanyl, into the country.
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, even small amounts of the drug, such as a few grains of sand, can be deadly and are responsible for approximately 48,000 deaths.
But experts note that Venezuela is not a source of fentanyl and contributes little to the flow of other drugs into the U.S., accounting for only a small portion of cocaine imported primarily from Mexico.
President Trump says ground attack on Venezuela will ‘begin soon’
President Donald Trump said in an address to troops that the United States would launch a ground attack on Venezuela “immediately.”
But that didn’t stop the Trump administration from launching attacks on at least 21 boats in international waters, killing 83 people, many of them Venezuelans. Administration officials said the ships were attempting to transport drugs into the United States without providing evidence to the public or Congress.
Some former military officials, law enforcement officials and legal analysts say the attack was illegal and amounted to extrajudicial killings. This was also the assessment of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, who said the attack was a “violation of international human rights law.”
Contributor: Josh Meyer, zach anderson, Cybele Mays-Osterman
