Extract from ABC News
President Donald Trump said Venezuela's airspace should be considered "closed in its entirety". (AP: Alex Brandon)
US President Donald Trump took to social media on Saturday to declare the entire airspace above Venezuela should be considered closed.
The post was the latest escalation in a stand-off between Mr Trump and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, sparking concerns the US could be preparing to strike the South American nation.
But does the US president have the power to close another country's airspace? Let's dive in.
What did Trump say?
The president said in social media posts on Saturday that the airspace "above and surrounding" Venezuela should be considered "closed in its entirety".
The White House has not responded to questions about what Mr Trump posted, and it is unclear whether he was announcing a new policy or simply reinforcing messaging around his campaign against Mr Maduro.
Can Trump close another nation's airspace?
Not officially.
By international law, every country has "complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory".
That means nations only have legal authority over their own airspaces, and the US cannot close Venezuela's.
However, airlines and pilots from the US and abroad may take Mr Trump's post as advice not to fly in the region.
What does it mean for airlines?
While direct flights to Venezuela by US airlines and cargo carriers have been banned since 2019, some American airlines fly through its airspace on routes to other South American nations.
Days before Mr Trump's post on social media, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which regulates civil aviation in the country, told pilots to be cautious flying over and around Venezuela because of heightened military activity.
The warning stipulated that US operators must provide the FAA with 72 hours' notice before flying through Venezuela.
Travellers in the main hall of the Simon Bolivar Maiquetia International Airport near Caracas on November 23 after international airlines cancelled flights. (AP: Ariana Cubillos)
International airlines not owned and operated out of the US can still choose to fly to Venezuela, but several have chosen to suspend their services due to safety concerns.
That's not the case for all airlines, though.
Flights from Panama, Curaçao and Colombia were among the international services to land in Venezuela's capital city Caracas, on Sunday, according to Flightradar24.
How has Venezuela responded?
Venezuela accused Mr Trump of making a "colonial threat" and seeking to undermine its sovereignty.
Its foreign ministry said that it "forcefully rejects" Mr Trump's claim about closing the airspace, adding that "such declarations constitute a hostile, unilateral and arbitrary act".
To discourage commercial airlines from suspending flights, the Venezuelan government issued a 48-hour ultimatum for the operators to resume their cancelled services or risk losing their permits, starting November 24.
Nicolás Maduro's government has revoked some commercial airlines' permits. (AP: Ariana Cubillos)
On Wednesday, the country's civil aviation authority announced the following airlines would have their permits revoked for joining "the actions of state terrorism promoted by the United States":
- Avianca (Colombia)
- Gol (Brazil)
- Iberia (Spain)
- Latam (Chile and Brazil)
- TAP (Portugal)
- Turkish Airlines (Turkey)
Colombia, Brazil and Spain are among the countries with the largest Venezuelan populations outside their homeland.
Avianca announced on Wednesday it intended to reschedule cancelled flights to Caracas by December 5 but declined to comment on its permit loss.
Iberia said it wished to restart flights to Venezuela as soon as full safety conditions were met.
Spain's Air Europa and Plus Ultra had also suspended flights to Venezuela, but their permits were not revoked.
Flights for Venezuelan migrants deported from the US have been suspended. (AP: Ariana Cubillos)
The statement by Venezuela's foreign ministry also said US immigration authorities had suspended biweekly deportation flights of Venezuelan migrants.
Following negotiations between the two governments, more than 13,000 Venezuelans in the US have been deported to Venezuela this year on dozens of chartered flights.
Has something like this happened before?
Under the first Trump administration in 2019, the US Department of Transportation ordered direct commercial passenger and cargo flights to and from Venezuela to be suspended.
The FAA also prohibited US operators from flying below 26,000 feet when in Venezuelan airspace.
The US government does have the authority to introduce such restrictions on American-owned airlines, but cannot dictate how others operate, nor control another nation's airspace.
What's going on with the US and Venezuela?
This development is the latest in a series of acts by the Trump administration that seek to ratchet up pressure on Mr Maduro.
The Trump administration has weighed both military and non-military operations with Venezuela, including covert action by the CIA and air strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea, which have killed more than 80 people since early September.
It says it is targeting drug smugglers, but experts and Mr Trump's political rivals have suggested the president is seeking a regime change.
The US government does not view Mr Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, and he faces charges of narcoterrorism in the US.
Last week, Mr Trump told military service members land strikes could start "very soon", but told reporters not to "read anything into it" when asked whether his comment on Venezuelan airspace suggested an imminent strike.
"President Trump's reckless actions towards Venezuela are pushing America closer and closer to another costly foreign war," Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer said on X.
"Under our Constitution, Congress has the sole power to declare war — not the President — and Congress has not authorized the use of military force against Venezuela."
US forces have been conducting bomber flights near Venezuela, and America's most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, is currently stationed in the area.
The carrier rounds off the largest build-up of US firepower in the region in generations.
With its arrival, the "Operation Southern Spear" mission includes nearly a dozen Navy ships and about 12,000 sailors and Marines.
ABC/AP/Reuters
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