Trump Declares Venezuelan Airspace Closed as US Intensifies Pressure on Maduro

The United States has carried out at least 21 lethal strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels since September, killing more than 80 alleged traffickers.

President Donald Trump looks on aboard Air Force One during travel to Palm Beach, Fla., from Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Nov. 25, 2025. Anna Rose Layden/Reuters

President Donald Trump said on Nov. 29 that the airspace above and around Venezuela should be considered “closed in its entirety,” marking the latest development as the United States intensifies military and diplomatic pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist regime.

In a Nov. 29 post on Truth Social, Trump addressed “all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” telling them to “consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”