The US has been piling pressure on Venezuela, saying the aim is to curb drug trafficking, but Caracas says regime change is the goal.
US President Donald Trump warned on Saturday that the airspace above and near Venezuela should be considered closed, the latest escalation in a stand-off with leftist leader Nicolas Maduro.
“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network, “please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY”.
