Venezuela Issues Statement After President Trump Orders All Aircraft to Avoid Regime-Controlled Airspace

WATCH: Venezuela Issues Statement After President Trump Orders All Aircraft to Avoid Airspace

Rising tensions between Washington and Caracas escalated sharply today after President Donald Trump issued a direct and unequivocal warning to all civilian pilots, commercial airlines, and criminal networks operating near Venezuela’s borders. 

In a brief but forceful statement posted earlier today, President Trump wrote:

“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!”

Within hours, the Venezuelan dictatorship released a furious, rambling communiqué accusing the United States of “colonialist threats,” denouncing Trump’s warning as an “extravagant, illegal, and unjustified aggression,” and portraying the announcement as an attempt to “give orders” to a sovereign country. 

The statement, issued under Venezuela’s national seal, claims Trump’s message constitutes a “threat of force” in violation of international law.

But what the regime refuses to acknowledge is the context: Venezuela has become one of the world’s most active hubs for cocaine trafficking, illegal flights, cartel activity, and illicit air transport connected to criminal networks across Latin America. 

U.S. officials have documented a surge in suspicious flight patterns in and around Venezuelan airspace over the past few days, including aircraft linked to the Venezuelan airforce operating close to American Naval forces.

Adding to the speculation, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene posted the following shortly after Trump’s announcement:

“Reminder, Congress has the sole power to declare war in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.”

Greene did not elaborate, but her decision to highlight Congress’s war powers immediately after the airspace closure has fueled assumptions that members of Congress may have been briefed on potential escalations. 

If lawmakers are receiving classified updates, it would indicate that the situation is more serious than either government is openly acknowledging.

For now, no military action has been announced, and no confirmation has been provided that strikes are underway or imminent. 

But Trump’s decision to shut down the airspace—combined with Venezuela’s aggressive reaction and Greene’s cryptic reminder—suggests that the standoff between Washington and Caracas may be entering a far more volatile phase.

In Venezuela’s statement, the regime accused the United States of attempting to “intimidate Venezuela” and framed Trump’s announcement as an attack on Latin America as a whole. 

The press release ignored every factual concern raised by U.S. intelligence, including increased military involvement in cocaine transport and the regime’s long-standing partnership with the Cartel of the Suns.

Today’s outburst from the Maduro regime is another example of Venezuela deflecting blame while its role in regional crime expands. 

Meanwhile, President Trump’s position is clear: protect international aviation, disrupt drug networks, and stop allowing a criminal regime to use its airspace as a staging ground.