Venezuela slams Trump’s 'colonialist' airspace closure threat

Venezuela has condemned US President Donald Trump’s warning that all airspace over and around the country should be considered “closed,” calling the statement a “colonialist threat” and a blatant assault on national sovereignty.

In a statement on Saturday, the Foreign Ministry said Caracas “denounces and condemns the colonialist threat that seeks to affect the sovereignty of its airspace,” describing the warning as “yet another extravagant, illegal, and unjustified aggression against the Venezuelan people.”

Trump issued the message earlier on his Truth Social platform, telling “airlines, pilots, drug dealers, and human traffickers” to treat Venezuelan airspace as entirely closed.

He did not elaborate on what the directive means or how it would be enforced.

The warning came amid a major US escalation in the Caribbean.

Washington has deployed the world’s largest aircraft carrier and several accompanying warships to the Caribbean as part of what it says is an expanded anti-drug trafficking operation, fuelling speculation that the US is preparing for confrontation with Caracas.

Venezuela says the US military buildup is aimed at destabilising the country and represents a new phase of toppling the government in Caracas.

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Source: TRT