US President Donald Trump unilaterally declared the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela to be "closed in its entirety" on Saturday.

The ominous warning, posted on his Truth Social network and addressed to "All Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers," was delivered without elaboration, intensifying the already grave situation in the Caribbean.

The declaration comes amidst a massive US military deployment to the region, which includes the presence of the world's largest aircraft carrier. This deployment, according to the US administration, is ostensibly aimed at curbing drug trafficking. However, the government in Caracas vehemently insists that the ultimate goal of Washington's actions is nothing less than regime change against the democratically elected leader, Nicolás Maduro.

Washington's operation has already demonstrated a perilous disregard for international law and Venezuelan sovereignty. Since early September, US forces have executed strikes against more than 20 alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in the reported deaths of at least 83 people.

Despite the deadly nature of these attacks, Washington has failed to provide any credible evidence that the targeted vessels were, in fact, being used to smuggle drugs or that they posed any genuine threat to the United States. Experts are characterizing these strikes as amounting to extrajudicial killings, even if the targets were known traffickers.

Further raising the stakes, President Trump warned earlier this week that efforts to halt Venezuelan drug trafficking "by land" would begin "very soon," signaling a dangerous willingness to expand the military conflict.

The build-up of US military power around Venezuela is undeniable and deeply concerning. Aircraft tracking websites have recorded constant activity by US fighter jets just a few dozen kilometers off the Venezuelan coast in recent days.

The United States has also secured cooperation from neighboring states. The Dominican Republic granted permission for the US to use its airport facilities as part of the deployment, while Trinidad and Tobago, located only a few kilometers from the Venezuelan coast, recently hosted US Marine Corps exercises. This coordinated regional deployment creates a veritable military ring around the Bolivarian Republic.

The escalating tensions have caused major disruptions to air travel in the region. Following a warning from US aviation authorities urging civilian aircraft to "exercise caution" due to the "worsening security situation and heightened military activity," six major South American airlines suspended flights to Venezuela.

Caracas rightly viewed this as a coordinated act of economic and political pressure, leading President Maduro's government to ban the companies—Spain's Iberia, Portugal's TAP, Colombia's Avianca, Chile and Brazil's LATAM, Brazil's GOL, and Turkish Airlines—for "joining the actions of state terrorism promoted by the United States government."

President Maduro, whose re-election was widely rejected by the US and its allies, believes this entire operation is a thinly veiled, aggressive move secretly aimed at overthrowing him and his socialist government.

Reacting defiantly to the external threats, the leftist leader has staged robust military exercises and massive rallies aimed at projecting national strength and unwavering popular support in the face of imperialist aggression.

In a bizarre development, The New York Times reported on Friday that Trump and Maduro had spoken by phone just last week to discuss a possible meeting in the United States. This purported outreach, coming on the heels of Trump’s imminent threat of "by land" operations, serves only to further underscore the unpredictable and confrontational nature of Washington's strategy toward Venezuela. (ILKHA)