Trump says Venezuela space should be considered closed entirely

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela should be considered closed in its entirety.

"To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social without elaboration.

The remarks were made amid heightening tensions in the relations between the United States and Venezuela.

Since early September, the Pentagon has carried out more than 20 known strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and East Pacific, killing more than 80 people. The U.S. military presence in the Caribbean was further strengthened in mid-November with the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford, a major aircraft carrier, to a level unseen in at least three decades.

In his Thanksgiving remarks to U.S. troops on Thursday night, Trump suggested that the U.S. could "very soon" take action by land against "drug trafficking networks" in Venezuela.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has denied any involvement in drug trafficking, accusing Washington of "fabricating" a pretext for forcing regime change in Venezuela. Enditem