Trump declares all airspace over and around Venezuela closed amid anti-drug operations

Amid anti-drug operations, US President Donald Trump on Saturday declares airspace above and surrounding Venezuela to be closed in its entirety.

“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” said Trump in a post on X.

Trump's declaration came a day after Trump said that efforts to halt Venezuelan drug trafficking ‘by land’ would begin 'very soon'.

Addressing a Texas-based Air Force bombing unit, Trump, reading from prepared remarks, said: "In recent weeks, you've been working to deter Venezuelan drug traffickers, of which there are many."

Elaborating on US efforts to halt drug trafficking, Trump said, "We've almost stopped — it's about 85 percent stopped by sea."

"You probably noticed that people aren't wanting to be delivering by sea, and we'll be starting to stop them by land," he said.

"Also the land is easier, but that's going to start very soon," he added.

Several of the US military groups that Trump addressed via video conferencing to mark the Thanksgiving holiday, were actively participating in his anti-drug operation.

Since September, the US military has carried out a series of airstrikes against boats it claims were trafficking drugs in international waters, without offering evidence to back up its claims.

The strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific have killed at least 83 people.

On November 11, escalating a military buildup that Venezuela has warned could trigger a full-blown conflict, US aircraft carrier strike group arrived in the Latin America region on Tuesday.

In a statement the US Naval Forces Southern Command said the USS Gerald Ford, whose deployment was ordered nearly three weeks ago to help counter drug trafficking, had entered the command's area of responsibility, which encompasses Latin America and the Caribbean.