President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after speaking to troops via video from his Mar-a-Lago estate on Thanksgiving in Palm Beach, Florida, Thursday, November 27, 2025.
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Alex Brandon/AP
The Venezuelan government has condemned President Trump’s statement on Saturday that called for the closure of airspace over Venezuela.
In a true social post“To all airlines, pilots, drug dealers and human smugglers, please consider a complete closure of the airspace over and around Venezuela,” Trump said.
Venezuelan government responded with a statement He said Trump’s comments violate international law and are a “colonialist threat” to the country’s sovereignty.
“No authority outside Venezuela’s institutional framework has the power to interfere with, prevent or condition the use of international airspace,” the statement said.
By Sunday afternoon, flightradar24 Planes continue to fly in Venezuelan airspace.
This comes a day after the Senate and House Armed Services Committees They said they would investigate the Pentagon after this Washington Post informed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in September ordered the killing of all crew members aboard a boat suspected of drug smuggling in the Caribbean. NPR has confirmed the Washington Post’s reporting.
The army has executed at least 21 attacks And at least 82 people were killed on alleged drug boats as part of “Operation Southern Spear”, a campaign that the Trump administration says is aimed at combating drug-trafficking.
Venezuela said in its statement that “Such statements represent a clear use of force, which is prohibited by Article 2, paragraph 4 of the UN Charter.”
Democrats have also strongly criticized the administration’s strategy, saying the military did not have enough evidence before the attack that drugs were being transported on the boats. Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, told ABC’s this week On Sunday it is possible that the military’s actions could be considered a “war crime” and Hegseth could be held accountable.
“They never presented to the public the information that they found here,” Van Hollen said, “but it could be worse than that, right?” If that theory is wrong, then it’s clearly murder.
However, Republican Senator Eric Schmidt, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said sunday morning promise on Fox News that Trump is “doing well within his Article 2 powers” when it comes to stopping drug trafficking by attacking boats.
“I think it’s a two-part strategy,” Schmidt said. “One is to get rid of the precursors coming from China, and then take out the cartels that are distributing it and bringing it into the United States.”
Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have expressed frustration over Trump’s stance on Venezuela, and the Trump administration’s attacks without legislative approval.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “Trump’s reckless actions toward Venezuela are pushing the United States closer to another costly foreign war.” Posted on x on Saturday, hours after Trump’s post about Venezuelan airspace.
Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally, also posted Saturday, “Reminder, Congress has the sole power to declare war.”
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