Venezuela on Saturday condemned President Donald Trump saying the South American country’s airspace should be considered closed as a “colonialist threat.”
Venezuelan officials accused Trump of threatening the country’s sovereignty, adding that his comments went against international law.
The country’s foreign minister called Trump’s post “another extravagant, illegal and unjustified aggression against the Venezuelan people,” BBC News reported.
Earlier Saturday, the president said on Truth Social that Venezuela’s airspace should be considered “closed in its entirety.”
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“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” he wrote without elaborating.
This came a week after the Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines of a “worsening security situation” in the area.
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Some international airlines canceled flights after the warning.
“Operators are advised to exercise caution when operating in the Maiquetia flight information region at all altitudes due to the worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela,” the FAA said in a pre-Thanksgiving advisory.
“Threats could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes, including during overflight, the arrival and departure phases of flight, and/or airports and aircraft on the ground,” it added, asking airlines to provide at least 72-hour advance notice to the FAA if they plan to fly through the area.
The warning came amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela as the U.S. builds up its presence in the Caribbean to deter drug smugglers.
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Direct flights from U.S. passenger and cargo carriers to Venezuela have been suspended since 2019, but some airlines still fly over the country on their South American routes, according to Reuters.
The U.S. doesn’t have the authority to close another country’s airspace.
FOX Business’ Greg Norman and Reuters contributed to this report.
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