Venezuela slams Trump's announcement of closing all of its airspace as 'colonialist threat'

By Serdar Dincel

ISTANBUL (AA) – Venezuela on Saturday condemned what it called "the colonialist threat," hours after US President Donald Trump announced that all airspace over and around Venezuela should be considered "closed in its entirety."

In a statement, the Venezuelan government stated that it "categorically repudiates" Trump's announcement, which "seeks to undermine" Venezuela's sovereignty over its airspace and constitutes an "illegal" aggression against the Venezuelan people.

Venezuela will continue to "fully" uphold its sovereignty over its airspace in accordance with international law, the statement said.

Earlier, Trump declared that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela should be considered "closed in its entirety" in the latest escalation of tensions between Washington and the South American country.

"To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY," Trump said via his social media company, Truth Social.