New York – November 30 – After a reported phone talk with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, U.S. President Donald Trump intensified his pressure on Caracas, announcing that the entire airspace over and around the country would be shut down and hinting at possible military moves. In a brief Truth Social post on Saturday afternoon, he wrote, “…please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.” He also warned “Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” tying the potential action to his broader anti‑migration and war‑on‑drugs agenda.
The U.S. has been bombing maritime vessels suspected of smuggling drugs for weeks, striking more than twenty ships and claiming over eighty lives. Trump said on Thursday, “We’ll be starting to stop them by land,” and added in a Thanksgiving‑Day message to the armed forces, “Also, the land (action) is easier, but that’s going to start very soon.” Caracas rebuked the announcement as “colonialist” and “hostile and unjustified.”
The region is already heavily patrolled by U.S. Navy forces, led by the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford, with about 15,000 troops on standby. The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported that Trump and Maduro had spoken by phone about a possible face‑to‑face meeting, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio – known for his hardline stance on Maduro – also joined the call. Neither side has confirmed the conversation. Earlier reports suggested that Maduro offered U.S. access to Venezuelan oil and other perks but demanded a two‑year hold on power, a condition Trump is unlikely to accept.
Last week, the U.S. designated the cartel Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization and accused Maduro of leadership. This classification could let Trump frame any action against the Venezuelan regime as part of an anti‑drug campaign rather than a formal war, potentially sidestepping his earlier statements against foreign intervention. He would also avoid the need for congressional approval, a point the Senate’s Democratic leader Chuck Schumer cautioned: “Under our Constitution, Congress has the sole power to declare war — not the president.” Schumer warned that President Trump’s bold moves toward Venezuela could draw the nation into another costly overseas conflict.
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