Venezuela denounces ‘colonialist threat’ as Trump orders airspace closed
"Colombia’s Petro urges ‘criminal trial’ against Trump for Venezuelan strikes "It's not foreigners, it's US -- US Citizens Were 80 Percent of All Convicted Drug Traffickers in 2024" Related: Proof Trump's drug war against Venezuela is horseshit - It is notable that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its most comprehensive annual report on the subject, the 2023 World Drug Report, states that Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia are the main cocaine producers. The same report identifies Australia, New Zealand, U.S., and Spain as the largest cocaine consumers worldwide. Curiously, Venezuela is not mentioned in any of these reports, neither as a producer nor as a major consumer.https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=176766935"
President made declaration in a social media post, after FAA last week warned airlines of ‘worsening security situation’ José Olivares and agencies Sun 30 Nov 2025 06.47 AEDT
A view of Caracas, after Donald Trump said on Saturday that the airspace above and around Venezuela would be completely closed. Photograph: Gaby Oráa/Reuters
The Venezuelan government has responded defiantly to the heightened pressure by the US government, including Donald Trump’s recent statements on Saturday that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela is to be closed in its entirety.
In a statement, the Venezuelan government said Trump’s comments are a “colonialist threat” against their sovereignty and violate international law. The government also said it demanded respect for its airspace and would not accept foreign orders or threats.
Trump on Saturday, 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.”
[ Insert: US repatriation flights to Venezuela had ground to a halt weeks ago after the Trump administration revoked a licence allowing Venezuela to export some of its oil to the US despite sanctions. P - But on Saturday the two governments, which have no diplomatic relations, reached an agreement on resuming the flights, as part of the Trump administration's plan to remove undocumented migrants. P - Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro described the flights as a chance to "rescue and free migrants from prisons in the US". March 25, 2025 - https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgm1r0wjdyno ]
Due to Trump’s announcement, all migrant deportation flights were “unilaterally suspended”, the Venezuelan government added. Deportation flights to Venezuela have been a significant point of contention for the Trump administration, as it continues to engage in its mass deportation program.
The US defense department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean .. https://www.theguardian.com/world/caribbean[see more interesting articles in there] have been under way for months, along with a US military buildup in the region, and Trump has authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela.
The president told military service members this week that the US would “very soon” begin land operations to stop suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers.
[Repeat again - It is notable that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its most comprehensive annual report on the subject, the 2023 World Drug Report, states that Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia are the main cocaine producers. The same report identifies Australia, New Zealand, U.S., and Spain as the largest cocaine consumers worldwide. Curiously, Venezuela is not mentioned in any of these reports, neither as a producer nor as a major consumer.https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=176766935 On the evidence, it appears clear that Trump's framing this build-up to war against Venezuela as an anti-drugs into the US crusade is a cover-up.]
Last week, the US 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 South American country.
Venezuela revoked operating rights for six major international airlines that had suspended flights to the country after the FAA warning.
The Trump administration has accused the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, of involvement in drug trafficking, a charge he has denied.
Maduro, in power since 2013, has said that Trump is seeking to oust him and that Venezuelan citizens and the military will resist any such attempt.
[Why Nicolás Maduro Faces Criminal Charges in the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called Mr. Maduro, the Venezuelan leader who faces narco-terrorism charges, a “fugitive from American justice.” By Benjamin Weiser Oct. 1, 2025 Trump administration officials seeking to remove Nicolás Maduro as the leader of Venezuela have been citing a federal indictment returned half a decade ago in Manhattan as one justification. P - The indictment, by a grand jury in March 2020 during President Trump’s first term, charges Mr. Maduro in a decades-long narco-terrorism and international cocaine trafficking conspiracy, and accuses him of overseeing a violent drug cartel as he rose to lead the South American nation. The United States is offering a $50 million reward for his capture. P - The United States does not recognize Mr. Maduro as Venezuela’s president, but the decision to indict a putative head of state was unusual, representing an escalation of the Trump administration’s efforts to pressure Mr. Maduro to leave office. [...]For the Trump administration, the nation is of keen interest. Its socialist leadership presents an attractive ideological target, and the nation has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, though its nationalized industry is moribund. [...]Around 1999, the indictment says, while the FARC was in purported peace negotiations with the Colombian government, the group agreed with leaders of the Cartel de los Soles to relocate some operations to Venezuela. P - The FARC and the cartel sent processed cocaine from Venezuela to the United States, via transshipment points in the Caribbean and Central America, according to the indictment. By 2004, it says, the U.S. State Department estimated that 250 or more tons of cocaine was transiting Venezuela annually, shipped north from Venezuela’s coastline in go-fast vessels, fishing boats and container ships. Other shipments were flown from clandestine airstrips, the indictment says. Other countries send much more cocaine .. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/world/americas/venezuela-drug-boat-trump-us.html . In 2018, 1,400 metric tons moved through Guatemala, U.S. data shows .. https://2021-2025.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/INCSR-Vol-INCSR-Vol.-I-1.pdf . Venezuela has little domestic cocaine cultivation. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/nyregion/nicolas-maduro-venezuela-charges-explainer.html ]
US forces in the region have so far focused on counter-narcotics operations, although the assembled firepower far outweighs anything needed for them.
They have carried out at least 21 strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific since September, killing at least 83 people.
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
