Washington, Nov 30. (dpa/GNA) – US President Donald Trump, on Saturday posted on his social network Truth Social that Venezuela’s airspace should be considered closed, amid rising tensions between Washington and Caracas.
“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” Trump wrote.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump’s post would have any direct consequences. Under international law, countries have the right to control their own airspace, the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA) notes on its website.
Venezuela later denounced Trump’s social media post as a “colonialist threat, that seeks to undermine the sovereignty of its airspace, constituting a new extravagant, illegal and unjustified aggression against the people of Venezuela,” Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto said.
Washington has stepped up pressure on Venezuela in recent weeks.
The US has deployed additional troops to the Caribbean and moved the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, from the Mediterranean to the region, accompanied by other warships and a long-range bomber.
The White House says the mission is part of its campaign against drug trafficking, though speculation has grown that the build-up could precede strikes on targets inside Venezuela, or signal an attempt to force a change of power in Caracas.
The US accuses Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, of being directly involved in drug trafficking, and has put a bounty of $50 million on his head.
GNA