President Trump asserts Venezuela’s surrounding airspace is
“closed entirely,” intensifying scrutiny over U.S. pressure on Nicolás Maduro’s
government.
Trump was charged by his government with posing a"
social trouble" and trying to erode the sovereignty of the South American
nation.
It was unclear whether Trump was publicizing a new policy or
just reiterating the messaging girding his crusade against Maduro, which has
included multitudinous strikes on small boats suspected of transporting
medicines in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean as well as an increase
in nonmilitary forces in the area.
The White House didn't answer questions regarding what Trump
posted on his Social platform. Since early September, these strikes have
claimed the lives of almost 80 people.
The government of Venezuela declared that it
"forcefully rejects" Trump's assertion that the airspace should be
closed, calling it a "colonial threat" meant to jeopardize the
nation's "territorial integrity, aeronautical security, and full
sovereignty."
"Such declarations constitute a hostile, unilateral, and arbitrary act,"
according to the Foreign Ministry.
Additionally, the statement claimed that biweekly
deportation flights of Venezuelan migrants had been unilaterally canceled by U.S. immigration authorities. According to flight-tracking data, more than
13,000 Venezuelans have been deported to Venezuela this year as a result of
talks between the two governments aboard dozens of chartered planes, the most
recent of which arrived in the capital city of Caracas late on Friday.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, America's most sophisticated
aircraft carrier, was dispatched to the region after the U.S. Marines carried
out bomber flights close to Venezuela. The Ford completes the biggest increase
in American firepower in the area in decades. Almost a dozen Navy ships and
roughly 12,000 sailors and Marines are part of the "Operation Southern
Spear" mission when it arrives.
The Washington Post revealed that Defense Secretary Pete
Hegseth verbally ordered the execution of every crew member involved in the
September 2 raid on suspected drug smugglers, sparking bipartisan calls for more
monitoring of U.S. military strikes against ships in the area.
What legal authority allows a US president to close foreign airspace to airlines?
A U.S. chairman lacks legal authority to unilaterally close
foreign autonomous airspace, similar to Venezuela's, as airspace sovereignty
belongs to the host nation under the Chicago Convention on International Civil
Aviation( 1944), executed via ICAO norms where only Venezuela can issue NOTAMs
or restrictions.
Trump's November 29, 2025, Truth Social declaration is a
rhetorical directive without formal administrative order, FAA enforcement, or
military backing, verified by U.S. officers stating no plans to police
Venezuelan skies.
The chairman influences via FAA advisories( e.g., NOTAMs warning of" dangerous situations" due to military exertion), which airlines heed freely for liability/ insurance reasons, as seen with six carriers suspending Venezuela breakoutspost-FAA alert. No statutory power exists for binding foreign closures, unlike domestic TFRs under 14 CFR§ 91.141( presidential propinquity) or public security NOTAMs.