US President Donald Trump has declared that airlines should treat the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela as closed, marking a significant escalation in his administration’s pressure campaign against President Nicolas Maduro. In a social media post from his Mar-a-Lago club, Trump issued a direct warning to airlines, pilots, drug dealers, and human traffickers to consider the airspace "closed in its entirety." This announcement coincides with reports of US forces massing off the Venezuelan coast, prompting speculation about potential military action that could extend beyond maritime interdictions to land-based operations.
The declaration appears to serve a dual purpose, potentially acting as leverage for future negotiations or serving as a precursor to expanded strikes. Andrei Serbin Pont, president of the research group CRIES, noted that the move resembles a "no-fly zone," which is often established to define parameters prior to a military operation. The US has already designated Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, a move experts suggest provides the legal framework for intervention. Concurrently, a wave of electromagnetic noise has reportedly interfered with GPS signals across Venezuela, complicating logistics for delivery apps and suggesting active electronic warfare measures.
The Venezuelan government immediately rejected the statement, characterizing it as a hostile threat of force and demanding unrestricted respect for its sovereignty. While Maduro has urged citizens to be ready to defend the nation against "imperialist attacks," daily life in Caracas remains largely uninterrupted. Residents have continued to prepare for Christmas celebrations, flooding stores for Black Friday discounts despite the geopolitical standoff. Furthermore, the state-led oil industry and foreign partners like Chevron continue to operate normally despite the rising tensions.
In a simultaneous and controversial move, President Trump announced plans to grant a full pardon to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez. Hernandez is currently serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for facilitating the shipment of vast quantities of cocaine into the United States. Federal prosecutors had successfully argued that Hernandez received millions of dollars from drug traffickers, including the notorious El Chapo, and had vowed to force drugs upon American citizens. The decision to release Hernandez just days before the Honduran election has reportedly shocked US authorities who spent years building the case against him, creating a stark contrast between the administration's aggressive anti-narcotics stance in Venezuela and the pardon of a convicted trafficker from Honduras.
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