Venezuela has accused the United States of making a "colonial threat" and seeking to undermine its sovereignty, after US President Donald Trump said the airspace "above and surrounding" the South American nation should be considered closed "in its entirety".

The United States continued its pressure campaign against Venezuela on Saturday as President Donald Trump issued a broad directive on social media, warning airlines, pilots and criminal networks to avoid Venezuelan airspace.

WASHINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The United States is poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, four U.S. officials told Reuters, as the Trump administration escalates pressure on President Nicolas Maduro's government.

Here is a timeline of the deteriorating relations between Venezuela and the US since Trump started his second term in January 2025 – and how Washington’s approach towards the South American nation since the late 1990s has led to this moment.

Trump's Truth Social post ordering Venezuela's airspace to be 'closed in its entirety' has provoked official confusion, an FAA security NOTAM and a furious Venezuelan communique.

President Trump’s statements on social media less than 24 hours apart showed the dissonance in his campaign against drug trafficking.

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.”

The Trump administration has accused Maduro of heading the Cartel of the Suns, which it has now added to its terrorist designations list, describing is as a centrally coordinated criminal operation that supports Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel as well as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, both of which the US has also designated as terrorist groups.

Believing that what’s happening in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela’s coast is solely about Nicolas Maduro is a grave mistake.

As the United States threatens to attack Venezuela, some Caribbean allies are offering support. The United States has been amassing military forces and assets in the region since August. It has killed more than 80 people in strikes on boats it alleges are carrying drugs to the United States.