Caracas, Venezuela – November 30, 2025 – Venezuela’s government issued a fierce rejection Saturday of U.S. President Donald Trump’s unilateral declaration that Venezuelan airspace and surrounding regions would be “completely shut down,” calling the statement a blatant violation of national sovereignty and an act of colonial aggression.
The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry released an official communiqué hours after Trump’s social media post, demanding “unconditional respect” for the country’s airspace and invoking the foundational principle of the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation: every state has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory.
“The Bolivarian Government declares that Venezuela will not accept any orders, threats, or interventions from any foreign power,” the statement read. “No authority other than Venezuelan institutions has the right to interfere with, obstruct, or impose conditions on the use of national airspace.”
Foreign Minister Yván Gil went further, describing Trump’s words as reflecting “an approach that carries colonial ambitions toward the Latin American region.” In posts on X, Gil accused the United States of attempting to “dictate to and threaten” a sovereign nation, labeling the announcement “unilateral, arbitrary, and hostile actions incompatible with the most fundamental principles of international law” and part of a long-standing policy of aggression against Venezuela.
Caracas also accused Washington of using the airspace threat to justify the abrupt suspension of repatriation flights for Venezuelan migrants. According to the government, the U.S. unilaterally halted flights operated under the “Return to the Homeland Plan,” a program that has facilitated the voluntary return of Venezuelan citizens from abroad. To date, 75 flights have brought back 13,956 people, the ministry said, framing the suspension as a cruel politicization of a humanitarian initiative.
The statement warned that increased U.S. military activity in the region now poses a direct threat to peace and stability across the Caribbean and northern South America. It urged the international community, sovereign states, the United Nations, and relevant multilateral organizations to break their silence and condemn the move.
“Venezuela will respond with all the strength granted by international law and the anti-imperialist spirit of our people, with dignity and legality,” the communiqué declared. “This threat against Venezuela is a threat to the peace of the continent and to our people. Our citizens, heirs of the Liberator Simón Bolívar, will prevail.”
The crisis began earlier in the day when President Trump posted a message addressed to “all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” stating that “Venezuelan airspace and the area surrounding it will be completely shut down.” The post rapidly amassed tens of millions of views but contained no details on enforcement mechanisms, timelines, or legal basis.
Despite the dramatic rhetoric from Washington, operations at Venezuela’s main international gateway, Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, continued normally throughout the day. Domestic flights operated by state carrier Conviasa and regional services from Copa Airlines, LATAM, and Turkish Airlines departed and arrived on schedule. Airport authorities reported no cancellations or disruptions directly linked to the U.S. announcement, and passenger traffic remained steady.
The episode marks the latest chapter in a decades-long confrontation between the United States and Venezuela’s socialist government. Since Trump’s return to office in 2025, his administration has intensified sanctions, designated several Venezuelan entities as terrorist organizations, and repeatedly accused the Maduro government of turning the country into a narco-state. Caracas, in turn, has consistently portrayed U.S. actions as part of an imperialist campaign to overthrow the Bolivarian Revolution.
Regional leaders expressed concern over the rapid escalation. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for dialogue rather than unilateral measures, while Colombia urged both sides to avoid actions that could endanger civilian aviation or complicate ongoing migration flows. At the United Nations, Secretary-General António Guterres’s office voiced “deep concern” and announced plans for an emergency consultation with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
As night fell over the Venezuelan capital, President Nicolás Maduro addressed a crowd of supporters in a televised speech from Miraflores Palace, vowing unbreakable national unity against what he called “gringo imperialism. Drawing frequent parallels to Simón Bolívar’s fight for independence, Maduro declared that Venezuela would never kneel before foreign threats.
For now, the skies above Venezuela remain open and in use. Whether Trump’s declaration remains rhetorical posturing or evolves into concrete action will determine whether this weekend’s war of words becomes the prelude to a far more dangerous confrontation in the Western Hemisphere.
