President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post declaring Venezuela’s airspace “closed in its entirety” has escalated the standoff with Nicolás Maduro’s government, which denounced it as a “colonialist threat” to its sovereignty. The statement follows U.S. Federal Aviation Administration warnings of heightened risks from military activity and GPS interference, prompting airlines to cancel flights.
In retaliation, Venezuela revoked operating permits for six foreign carriers, accusing them of aiding U.S. “state terrorism.” This comes amid a major U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, including the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group and additional warships, aircraft, and troops to interdict drug shipments and pressure Maduro over alleged “narco-terrorist” ties.
Officials describe an upcoming “phase” blending covert and overt actions against drug networks, while avoiding explicit regime-change rhetoric. The operations have involved lethal strikes on suspected drug vessels, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirming three attacks in the Eastern Pacific that killed 14 people, leaving one survivor. Reports of earlier Caribbean strikes, including a second hit on survivors, have drawn human rights scrutiny and congressional probes over legality and targeting.
Maduro frames the pressure as a prelude to invasion but has signaled willingness for direct talks with Trump to de-escalate. Regional neighbors, strained by Venezuelan migration, now grapple with potential U.S.-Venezuelan conflict.
