Nov. 29 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Saturday morning warned that airspace over and around Venezuela is "closed in its entirety" as he mulls whether to strike the country amid a U.S. military build-up off its shore.
The move comes after massing naval vessels in the Caribbean, including the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and its strike group, and for weeks blowing boats out of the water that are allegedly being used for trafficking drugs.
"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 in a post on Truth Social early Saturday.
Trump, who spoke with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by phone this week, does not have the legal authority to close Venezuelan airspace but the announcement is sometimes made before airstrikes are launched in military campaigns.
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