US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that… Airspace “over Venezuela and surrounding areas” It has been completely “shut down”.
“For everyone Airlines, pilots, drug dealers and traffickers The US President announced on his “Truth Social” platform that the airspace over Venezuela and its surrounding areas will remain completely closed.
Waiting for new developments, this announcement Breaks At the present time, the novel by A possible approach With Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, according to information published by the newspaper this week New York Timeswho spoke about A Last conversation A phone call happened between the two. The conversation took place last weekend, according to two sources close to the dialogue, in which the two leaders talked about a possible bilateral agreement in the United States.
The same American media reported in October that Maduro had offered the United States significant participation in the operation Oil fields The country, in addition to many other opportunities for American companies, in an attempt to ease tensions. However, the United States ended up raising a A practically unsustainable offer: Maduro was forced to relinquish the power he assumed in 2013 immediately after the death of Hugo Chavez.
However, the events of the past few hours They have gone out of line. Indeed, Trump’s announcement on Saturday practically comes at the end of a week in which the North American president clearly warned that his military strategy in the war against drugs will shift in the near future from being confined to Caribbean waters to In the struggle for land.
On Thursday itself, Trump actually warned about this Operations will begin “very soon.” North American forces have ordered the “arrest of a large number” of alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers “by land,” comments that have fueled speculation about possible US military intervention in the Latin American country.
“You may have noticed that people do not want to deliver by sea, and We’ll start stopping them on the ground as well. “It’s easier by land, but that will start very soon,” the White House tenant said in a remote conversation with military personnel on duty for Thanksgiving.
As soon as we learned the statements of North American President Maduro A state of “alert” was declared for the country’s air force He stressed that “there is no threat or aggression that intimidates” Venezuela in the face of the actions of “foreign imperialist forces” that “constantly threaten to alter the peace” in the Caribbean region “under false and exaggerated pretexts.”
Donald Trump administration, which He allowed the CIA to operate In Venezuela, it used the Sun Cartel’s alleged role in drug trafficking as one of its main assets to justify attacks against alleged drug boats in Caribbean waters, although it also extended into the eastern Pacific, adding at least 83 deaths in 21 operations in total.
Military deployment
These attacks come within the framework of the so-called Operation Southern SpearIn addition to increasing the US military presence in the region, which included the deployment of the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier, the largest in the US Navy.
The deployment was confirmed just hours after the aircraft carrier entered the Southern Command (SouthCom) area of responsibility on November 11, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered it to “support Trump’s directives.”– Dismantling transnational criminal organizations And combating drug terrorism.
“The increased presence of US forces in the Southcom area of responsibility will enhance US capacity Detection, monitoring and interruption “Illicit activities and actors endanger the security and prosperity of the United States and our security in the Western Hemisphere,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said.
For Washington, the deployment – which includes 4,000 soldiers and dozens of aircraft on board – “will improve and strengthen existing counter-terrorism capabilities.” Dismantling, weakening and dismantling the drug trade Transnational criminal organizations,” adding that they “provide an increased ability to project force through sustained operations at sea.”
In this context, the speaker explained that: USS Gerald R. Ford “It can launch and recover fixed-wing aircraft simultaneously on the flight deck, day or night, to support its assigned operations.” So, It will “reinforce” the joint forces They have already been deployed in the region to “defeat and dismantle criminal networks exploiting our borders and shared maritime domains.”