Cuba strongly condemns Washington’s unilateral decision to close the airspace over Venezuela, describing the move as a dangerous prelude to an illegal military attack against the Bolivarian Republic, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla declared on Sunday.
“We categorically condemn the announcement by the United States government to close Venezuelan airspace,” the minister posted on X.
He described the measure as “an aggressive and illegal act that no state has the right to impose beyond its own borders”. He urged the entire international community to issue the strongest possible repudiation.
Parrilla warned that Trump’s declaration on Saturday constitutes a grave violation of international law, an escalation of military aggression, and an intensification of psychological warfare against the Venezuelan people and their legitimate government.
“Such reckless actions threaten international peace and security and could have unpredictable consequences for stability throughout Latin America and the Caribbean,” he emphasized.
Cuba, therefore, calls on governments, parliaments, political forces, social movements, and peoples worldwide to forcefully denounce this dangerous step, which the island nation regards as a clear prelude to an unlawful armed attack on Venezuela.
Trump’s Ultimatum
Earlier, US President Donald Trump intensified his confrontation with Venezuela, issuing a stark social media ultimatum declaring the country’s airspace “closed in its entirety”.
The provocative statement, posted from his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, has ignited widespread alarm over potential US military strikes on Venezuela, amid a swelling US naval armada in the Caribbean.
“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Caracas, already reeling from a months-long US pressure campaign—including over 20 deadly strikes on suspected drug vessels that have claimed at least 83 lives—branded the airspace order a “colonialist threat” and a blatant violation of sovereignty.
Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry accused Washington of orchestrating “extravagant, illegal, and unjustified aggression” to undermine the nation’s territorial integrity and aeronautical security.
Meanwhile, Maduro’s government halted repatriation flights for Venezuelan migrants from the US—a cornerstone of Trump’s mass deportation drive—and mobilized coastal defenses, broadcasting footage of anti-aircraft batteries and artillery drills on state television.
Trump’s warning follows a secret phone call with Maduro last week, during which the two leaders reportedly explored a possible summit in the US and offered amnesty for Maduro’s inner circle in exchange for his resignation.
According to sources cited by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, Trump—joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio—urged Maduro to step down voluntarily, dangling immunity from US sanctions and charges tied to corruption, human rights abuses, and narco-terrorism.
No meeting is currently planned, but Trump warned of “other options, including force,” should Maduro refuse.
The airspace ruling builds on a fierce US anti-trafficking offensive launched in September, framed by the administration as a crusade against the “Cartel de los Soles”—a purported Maduro-led narco-terror syndicate—and the Tren de Aragua gang, designated a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year.
Since then, US forces have conducted multiple strikes across the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific, eradicating 22 vessels and killing 83 individuals.
The campaign kicked off on September 1 with a drone strike on a Venezuelan speedboat between Caracas and Trinidad and Tobago, killing 11 alleged Tren de Aragua operatives en route to US waters with narcotics, Trump claimed in a video release.
Subsequent attacks—often announced via Trump’s Truth Social or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s X posts—have targeted boats off Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, with casualties including Colombian fishermen unlinked to cartels, per President Gustavo Petro.
Maduro dismisses the narco-cartel narrative as a pretext for regime change and oil grabs, vowing “total war” if US boots touch Venezuelan soil.
The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group—armed with F-35 jets, destroyers with Tomahawk missiles, and over 4,500 sailors—anchors in the Caribbean alongside submarines and bombers patrolling Venezuelan waters.
Opposition leader Edmundo González, exiled in Spain, hailed the pressure as a path to “democratic restoration.”
Regionally, allies like Iran—bombed by the US earlier in 2025—condemned the move as a “breach of international law,” while Colombia’s Petro decried spillover civilian deaths.
The 33-nation CELAC bloc, in a joint statement, invoked the 2014 declaration prohibiting foreign military intervention and expressed “profound concern” over US naval deployments and airspace restrictions. Brazil and Mexico led the response, emphasizing multilateralism.
With Republicans commanding both chambers, Trump’s campaign has dodged deep scrutiny, but cracks are emerging. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer lambasted the president on Sunday on X: “Trump’s reckless actions towards Venezuela are pushing America closer and closer to another costly foreign war. Under our Constitution, Congress has the sole power to declare war.”
Even Trump stalwart Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene echoed the sentiment: “Reminder, Congress has the sole power to declare war.”
A bipartisan Senate letter from 13 lawmakers on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees demanded transparency on the strikes’ legality and costs.
Democrats like Sens. Jack Reed and Adam Schiff warn of an “open secret” regime-change plot, while a failed war powers resolution last week (49-51) underscored GOP loyalty.
Not all Republicans demur. Sen. Lindsey Graham cheered: “Trump’s strong commitment to end this madness in Venezuela will save countless American lives. I hear Turkey and Iran are lovely this time of year…”—a sardonic nod to Maduro’s exile options.
- Via: AFP
- Edited By ET Online Desk
