Venezuelan President Maduro slams Trump’s airspace shutdown as ‘colonial threat’

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused the US of making a “colonial threat” to his nation after President Trump called for the closing of the airspace above the socialist state.

The country’s government said it “forcefully rejects” Trump’s claim about closing the airspace, branding it an attempt to undermine Venezuela’s “territorial integrity, aeronautical security and full sovereignty,” according to a statement from its Foreign Ministry Saturday.

“Such declarations constitute a hostile, unilateral and arbitrary act,” the statement continued.

The leftist leadership was speaking after President Trump stepped up pressure on the Caracas regime in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” Trump said in a post Saturday.

Iran, one of Venezuela’s biggest allies, condemned the president’s announcement as “a serious breach of international law and a threat to global aviation safety,” according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.

It is unclear what Trump’s calls for an air blockade will mean for the string of migrant deportation flights which have taken nearly 14,000 nationals back from the US recently, the Venezuelan government’s statement continued.

Some two flights a week have taken place in recent months, amid the US government’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

President Trump’s announcement came days after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned that major airlines faced a “potentially hazardous situation,” due to a “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around” the country.

In response, Venezuela revoked operating rights for six major international airlines, which had suspended flights to the country in response to the FAA’s warning.

With Post wires.