Trump doesn’t care about legalities.
Air Space Above and Surrounding Venezuela Closed
Truth Social: To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, 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
The Washington Post reports Trump says airlines should consider Venezuelan airspace closed That’s a free link.
President Donald Trump on Saturday said that commercial airlines should consider Venezuelan airspace closed, increasing pressure on the country’s leadership after weeks of escalating tensions between Washington and Caracas and the growing threat of a U.S. attack against the country.
Though Trump does not have the legal authority to close the airspace over another country, such a move is sometimes a first step ahead of airstrikes. His declaration follows a massive buildup of U.S. military forces in the region in recent weeks, as Trump has ramped up threats against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. And it is likely to disrupt the lives of Venezuelan citizens and the mountainous country’s economy.
The Trump administration has alleged that Maduro and his top security officials are the leaders of a drug cartel that is sending narcotics to the United States. The administration designated the so-called Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization on Monday, possibly giving the Pentagon a legal justification to launch strikes against Venezuelan government targets. But the group is neither a formal organization nor a cartel.
U.S. military aircraft are already “almost constantly” conducting patrols in the international airspace near Venezuela as part of the increased presence and counternarcotics operations, a U.S. official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss military operations. The official referred questions about whether those tactics are changing, to include overflights of Venezuela’s airspace, to the White House.
A White House threat about airspace closure might be enough to prompt commercial airlines to halt flights over Venezuela, a nation of 28 million people.AI Icon
Actually enforcing a no-fly zone would require an extensive military campaign and a significant commitment of resources. A handful of commercial flights continued above Venezuela midday Saturday, hours after Trump’s post.
The U.S. has about 15,000 troops in the region spread across about a dozen other warships in the Caribbean and support forces in Puerto Rico. It’s the largest military buildup there in decades.
Trump has been ambiguous about whether he plans to strike inside Venezuela, even as he has increased pressure on Maduro.
“If we can save lives, if you can do things the easy way, that’s fine. And if we have to do it the hard way, that’s fine too,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Tuesday.
Hegseth Says Kill Them All
Also note Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
The longer the U.S. surveillance aircraft followed the boat, the more confident intelligence analysts watching from command centers became that the 11 people on board were ferrying drugs.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a spoken directive, according to two people with direct knowledge of the operation. “The order was to kill everybody,” one of them said.
A missile screamed off the Trinidad coast, striking the vessel and igniting a blaze from bow to stern. For minutes, commanders watched the boat burning on a live drone feed. As the smoke cleared, they got a jolt: Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck.
Hegseth’s order, which has not been previously reported, adds another dimension to the campaign against suspected drug traffickers. Some current and former U.S. officials and law-of-war experts have said that the Pentagon’s lethal campaign — which has killed more than 80 people to date — is unlawful and may expose those most directly involved to future prosecution.
Because there is no legitimate war between the two sides, killing any ofthe men in the boats “amounts to murder,” said Todd Huntley, a former military lawyer who advised Special Operations forces for seven years at the height of the U.S. counterterrorism campaign.
Even if the U.S. were at war with the traffickers, an order to kill all the boat’s occupants if they were no longer able to fight “would in essence be an order to show no quarter, which would be a war crime,” said Huntley, now director of the national security law program at Georgetown Law.
Attack Imminent?
Two days ago, Trump suggested land strikes against Venezuela could be imminent. “The land is easier. That’s going to start very soon. We warned them, stop sending poison into our country.”
Comments from Thanksgiving remarks at Mar-a-Lago via the Wall Street Journal.
Trump to Pardon former Honduran president convicted of drug-trafficking
Please note Trump says he will pardon former Honduran president serving sentence in drug-trafficking case
One has to wonder how much Juan Orlando Hernandez funneled to Trump’s campaign.
Did Congress Declare War on Venezuela?
The answer is no. But closing the airspace is an act of war.
The Trump Administration does not give a damn about the law. Nor do his mindless minions, until it impacts them directly.
Numerous Illegal Actions
Trump is gearing up for an illegal strike on Venezuela, has threatened bombing Mexico drug cartels, has threatened Nigeria, and would not even rule out taking Greenland by force to secure rare earth minerals.
If Trump loses the House in the midterms, he will be impeached for a third time. And there will be a strong case for it. However, the third impeachment will be symbolic because the Senate won’t convict.
Meanwhile, those who respect the law are sickened by Trump’s total disregard of it.
I am pleased to see Senator Rand Paul take a stand on Trump’s warmongering and tariffs.
Rand Paul Right on Venezuela, Right on Tariffs
September 3, 2025: A Strange Transformation of the Tea Party to Big Gov’t and Huge Spending
The term RINO no longer makes any sense at all.
November 28, 2025: Trump Doubles Down on Idiotic Idea of Using Tariffs to Replace Income Tax
Once again, Trump says tariffs can replace the income tax.
November 29, 2025: We Pay the Tariffs Anecdotes, Lost Sales and Going Bankrupt
“We are just in business to pay off our tariff debt.”
Finally, please see my September 2, 2025 post: Gold Surges Above $3,600 to New Record High Despite a Rising Dollar
Gold does not believe the Fed is under control, Congress is under control, budget deficits are under control, and Trump is under control.
And neither do I.
