Trump: Airspace Above Venezuela Closed

    Trump: Airspace Above  

        Venezuela Closed

M.A. Dworkin

     Washington, D.C. - In what has become an increasingly powerful show of force that appears to be leading to a serious conflict which could include U.S. military ground forces moving into Venezuela, President Donald Trump has announced that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela is to be closed in its entirety. 

     Trump, in a Truth Social post said: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”

     The statement comes amid escalating tensions, as the Trump Administration continues to exert enormous pressure on the corrupt Maduro regime. In the previous months, Trump has ordered a major military deployment in the Caribbean that includes 15,000 troops and the movement of a number of warships into striking distance of Venezuela, including the Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier. The purpose being to depose the corrupt Venezuelan regime of President Nicolas Maduro, due to his ties to Narco-terrorist cartels.  

     The U.S. says the aim of the deployment, the largest by the U.S. in the region since it invaded Panama in 1989, is to combat drug trafficking. 

     U.S. forces have carried out at least 21 strikes on boats they claim were carrying drugs, killing more than 80 people.

     Last week, the primary U.S. aviation regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned major airlines of a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around the country.” It urged airlines to exercise caution, at all altitudes due to the worsening security situation and heightened military activity in and around Venezuela. It requested airlines to provide at least 72 hour advance notice to the FAA if they plan to fly through the area.

     Venezuela countered the action by revoking operating rights for six major international airlines that had suspended flights to the country following a warning from the FAA. Iberia, TAP Portugal, Gol, Latam, Avianca and Turkish Airlines were ordered to lose their landing and take-off rights with immediate effect. 

     Trump recently remarked about the ominous situation: “We might talk to Maduro, but we can do things the easy way, that’s fine, and if we have to do it the hard way that’s fine, too.”