The Venezuelan government condemned President Trump’s Saturday statement calling for the airspace above Venezuela to be closed.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said, “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Venezuela responded with a statement saying Trump’s comments violate international law and constitute a “colonialist threat” to the country’s sovereignty. “No authority outside the Venezuelan institutional framework has the power to interfere with, block, or condition the use of international airspace,” the statement said.
As of Sunday afternoon, Flightradar24 showed planes continuing to fly in Venezuelan airspace.
The exchange comes after the Senate and House Armed Services committees said they would investigate the Pentagon following a Washington Post report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the killing of all crew members aboard a boat suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean in September. NPR has confirmed the Washington Post’s reporting.
The military has carried out at least 21 strikes and killed at least 82 people on alleged drug boats as part of “Operation Southern Spear,” a campaign the Trump administration says targets drug trafficking.
Venezuela’s statement said such comments represent an explicit use of force prohibited by Article 2, paragraph 4 of the U.N. Charter.
Democrats have sharply criticized the administration’s strategy, arguing the military lacked sufficient evidence that the boats carried drugs before conducting strikes. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland told ABC’s This Week it’s possible the military’s actions could be considered a “war crime” and that Hegseth should be held accountable. “They’ve never presented the public with the information they’ve got here,” Van Hollen said. “But it could be worse than that, right? If that theory is wrong, then it’s plain murder.”
Republican Senator Eric Schmitt, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures that Trump is acting “well within his Article 2 powers” to curb drug smuggling by striking the boats. “I think it’s a two part strategy,” Schmitt said. “One is to get rid of the precursors that are coming from China, and then take out the cartels that are distributing this and bringing it to the United States of America.”
Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have expressed frustration that the administration conducted strikes without legislative approval. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted on X that “Trump’s reckless actions towards Venezuela are pushing America closer and closer to another costly foreign war.” Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally, posted a reminder that “Congress has the sole power to declare war.”