Tensions between Washington and Caracas reached a new boiling point when Donald Trump posted a withering message on his social network Truth: “To all airlines, pilots, drug dealers and human traffickers: the airspace over Venezuela will remain completely closed.”
There are no technical details, no explanations, and no warnings. A dry and categorical order that fell like a bomb on the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs across the hemisphere.
In times when every word was reshaping alliances, the message was interpreted as an announcement of a higher stage of confrontation with the government of Nicolas Maduro.
Trump and Maduro spoke on the phone last week, and not alone. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a fierce opponent of Chavismo, participated in the conversation in which the possibility of a meeting in the United States was mentioned.
The White House did not deny this, but it did not confirm it either. Miraflores chose to remain silent, although two sources close to the Venezuelan government confirmed the existence of the conversation.
The leak generated an immediate political shock: Are the negotiations secret? Election maneuver? Secret truce? Questions today’s diplomats and analysts from all over America.
In Venezuela, the reaction has been remarkably receptive. “The conversation would be welcome. It could save lives,” Attorney General Tarek William Saab said, hinting that Caracas may be looking for a diplomatic way out amid increasing isolation.
Sun cartel factor
The call could have taken place before Washington declared the Sun Cartel a terrorist organization, accusing Maduro’s inner circle of leading a structure of drug trafficking and violence in the Western Hemisphere.
This designation added an explosive flavor to the conflict: for the United States, this cartel would be responsible for bombing the Nordic country and part of Europe with cocaine, along with the Aragua train and the Sinaloa cartel.
Caracas categorically denies this and accuses Trump of using these accusations to justify a military attack on its territory.
Trump promised to take ground measures
The war rhetoric did not stop. In his traditional Thanksgiving phone call with members of the armed forces, Trump was more direct.
He stressed, “We will begin arresting Venezuelan drug smugglers by land. Very soon. By land, it is easier.”
This comment raised all alarms in the region: a ground operation would mean another level of intervention, much higher than the military deployment that has already affected the Caribbean since September.
There, the Pentagon mobilized a fleet that included the largest aircraft carrier in the world, and its ships and helicopters participated in more than twenty attacks against alleged drug boats. Washington claims that at least 83 people died, although it has not provided conclusive evidence that those boats were transporting drugs.
Air crisis
The American warning led to an unprecedented decision on the regional air map: Iberia, TAP, Avianca, LATAM Colombia, GOL, and Turkish Airlines suspended all their flights to and from Venezuela.
Maduro’s government responded with the utmost harshness: it revoked operating permits and accused airlines of being in league with the alleged “state terrorism” promoted by Trump.
The measure left thousands of passengers stranded and put the airline industry on red alert, while political tension took to the skies.
Oil trade and power
While the public battle rages, multiple press reports reveal that beneath the surface there is a conspiracy of secret negotiations: The New York Times claims that Maduro has offered participation in Venezuelan oil fields to American companies.
The Miami Herald newspaper revealed that Delcy and Jorge Rodriguez submitted two official proposals to Washington, through diplomatic mediation from Qatar.
American officials were going to stop the talks when they discovered that Maduro’s goal was to ensure his continuity in power.
Everything indicates that behind the inflammatory rhetoric, there is a strategic struggle over resources, geopolitical influence, and political survival.
Between threats, secret phone calls, military operations, and air crises, the relationship between the United States and Venezuela is entering an unpredictable phase.
Trump raises his tone, Maduro is accused of imposing an “air blockade,” and the forces in the region are cautiously monitoring a conflict that is no longer bilateral and has turned into a continental council.