President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters after addressing troops via video from his Mar-a-Lago estate, prompted a sharp rebuke from Venezuela with a Saturday post on Truth Social saying, “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
Venezuelan authorities issued a statement calling the comment a violation of international law and a “colonialist threat” to their sovereignty, saying no outside authority may interfere with, block, or condition the use of international airspace. As of Sunday afternoon, flight-tracking data showed aircraft continuing to operate in Venezuelan airspace.
The post follows reporting that prompted congressional scrutiny of the Pentagon. Senate and House Armed Services committees said they would investigate after The Washington Post reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered an operation in September to kill all crew members aboard a boat suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean — reporting NPR has confirmed. The U.S. military has carried out at least 21 strikes under “Operation Southern Spear,” which the administration says targets drug trafficking; those strikes have reportedly killed at least 82 people on alleged drug-smuggling vessels.
Venezuela’s statement argued that such directives amount to an explicit use of force prohibited by Article 2, paragraph 4 of the U.N. Charter. Democrats have criticized the administration’s approach, arguing there was insufficient evidence that the targeted boats were carrying drugs before the strikes. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told ABC’s This Week the actions could amount to a “war crime” if the underlying claims are wrong and said officials should be held accountable.
Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt, a member of the Armed Services Committee, defended the strikes on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, saying Trump is acting “well within his Article 2 powers” to stop drug smuggling. Schmitt described a two-part strategy: disrupting precursor chemicals coming from China and targeting cartels distributing drugs to the United States.
Members of both parties have also expressed frustration that the administration carried out strikes without congressional approval. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer posted on X that Trump’s actions risk drawing the U.S. into another costly foreign war, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene reminded followers that Congress holds the sole power to declare war.