<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>President Donald Trump on Saturday said that the airspace “above and surrounding” </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/venezuela" rel="" target="" title="Venezuela "><span>Venezuela</span></a><span> should be considered as “closed in its entirety,” an assertion that raised more questions about the US pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His government accused Trump of making a ”colonial threat" and seeking to undermine the South American country's sovereignty.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The White House did not respond to questions about what Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, and it was unclear whether he was announcing a new policy or simply reinforcing the messaging around his campaign against Maduro, which has involved multiple strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean on small boats accused of ferrying drugs as well as a buildup of naval forces in the region.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/north-st-marys-fire-sydney/4cbcf0c6-97a4-4917-bb96-5e4bc96ddf66"><strong><span>Massive industrial fire in Sydney's west could burn for days</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>More than 80 people have been killed in such strikes since early September.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Republican president addressed his call for an aerial blockade to “Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers,” rather than to Maduro.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Venezuela’s government said it “forcefully rejects” Trump’s claim about closing the airspace and that it was a “colonial threat” intended to undermine the country's "territorial integrity, aeronautical security and full sovereignty.”</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/trump-venezuelan-airspace-viewed-as-closed-maduro-government-slams-colonial-threat/d1d7673b-792c-47fd-8a5c-7e539068da1d" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Foreign Ministry said “such declarations constitute a hostile, unilateral and arbitrary act.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The statement also said that US immigration authorities had unilaterally suspended biweekly deportation flights of Venezuelan migrants.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Following negotiations between the two governments, more than 13,000 Venezuelans have been deported to Venezuela this year on dozens of chartered flights, the latest of which arrived late Friday in Caracas, the capital, according to flight-tracking data.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/melbourne-metro-opening-victoria/32bf7082-1d95-440f-88ed-42e019e19fcd" rel="" target="" title=" Teething issues as Melbourne Metro Tunnel finally opens after years of delays"><strong><span>Teething issues as Melbourne Metro Tunnel finally opens after years of delays</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>International airlines last week began to cancel flights to Venezuela after the Federal Aviation Administration told pilots to be cautious flying around the country because of heightened military activity.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The FAA’s jurisdiction is generally limited to the United States and its territories.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The agency does routinely warn pilots about the dangers of flying over areas with ongoing conflicts or military activity around the globe, as it did earlier this month with Venezuela.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-suggests-military-decision-has-been-reached-on-venezuela-what-we-know/76f292cd-3da2-4c88-babd-a26a55b0cc2a"><strong><span>Trump hints at decision on Venezuela - is the US about to go to war?</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The FAA works with other countries and the International Civil Aviation Organization on international issues.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The FAA and ICAO did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump's administration has sought to ratchet up pressure on Maduro.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The US government does not view Maduro as the legitimate leader of the oil-rich but increasingly impoverished South American nation and he faces charges of narcoterrorism in the US.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>US forces have conducted bomber flights near Venezuela and the USS Gerald R. Ford, America's most advanced aircraft carrier, was sent to the area.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Ford rounds off the largest buildup of US firepower in the region in generations. With its arrival, the “Operation Southern Spear” mission includes nearly a dozen Navy ships and about 12,000 sailors and Marines.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/jetstar-flights-cancelled-airbus-recall/01f2d3c6-6ea2-4101-a4ea-48b453b6279f"><strong><span>Delays expected again for Jetstar passengers as airlines race to fix Airbus planes</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There are bipartisan calls for greater oversight of the US military strikes against vessels in the region after </span><em><span>The Washington Post</span></em><span> reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order for all crew members to be killed as part of the Sept. 2 attack on suspected drug smugglers.</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2024/11/29/12/19/today-in-history-november-30-what-happened-on-this-day-in-pictures"><img alt="" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/2aVqEvKcUN6TFT31BS3TBKYm2is=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F67111174-257f-4496-ab1d-1457bfd99fd7" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/2aVqEvKcUN6TFT31BS3TBKYm2is=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F67111174-257f-4496-ab1d-1457bfd99fd7 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/_fHX7xOZyiY3bTzdk3i9VB4qCIk=/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F67111174-257f-4496-ab1d-1457bfd99fd7 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">Fierce blaze marks the end of 'cursed' cruise ship</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2024/11/29/12/19/today-in-history-november-30-what-happened-on-this-day-in-pictures">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and its top Democrat, Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, said in a joint statement late on Friday that the committee "will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump’s team has weighed both military and nonmilitary options with Venezuela, including covert action by the CIA.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump has publicly floated the idea of talking to Maduro.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>The New York Times</span></em><span> reported on Friday that Trump and Maduro had spoken.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The White House declined to answer questions about the conversation.</span></div></div>