Petro attacks Trump over Venezuela's airspace closure
In a new diplomatic escalation reflecting the deep differences in vision between Latin American countries and the United States, Colombian President Gustavo Petro sharply criticized his American counterpart, Donald Trump, following the latter's announcement of the closure of Venezuelan airspace. Petro considered such unilateral decisions a dangerous precedent in international relations and a blatant violation of the sovereignty of independent states.
Colombia's position: A defense of sovereignty and international law
The Colombian president, the first leftist president in modern Colombian history, asserted that no foreign leader, regardless of their country's power, has the right to declare the airspace of another sovereign state closed. Petro's remarks came in a message he posted late Saturday on the X platform, where he asked rhetorically, "I would like to know under what rule of international law a head of state can close the airspace of another state?".
Not only as President of Colombia, but also as President of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Petro warned that accepting this logic would effectively mean "the end of the concepts of national sovereignty and international law." This stance reinforces Petro's efforts to unify the Latin American voice against foreign interventions and his ongoing attempts to reintegrate Venezuela into the regional sphere after years of isolation.
Historical context and US-Venezuelan tensions
This event cannot be separated from the historically tense context of relations between Washington and Caracas. For years, the United States has imposed harsh economic and political sanctions on the government of President Nicolás Maduro, attempting to pressure him to step down. Washington considers Maduro's government to lack democratic legitimacy, which has led successive US administrations to take various punitive measures, ranging from oil embargoes to diplomatic isolation.
Trump’s recent declaration that Venezuelan airspace is “completely closed” as part of a “maximum pressure” strategy coincides with an intensification of the US military presence in the Caribbean, which Venezuela considers a “colonial threat” reminiscent of the era of direct military interventions in the continent.
The repercussions of the decision on air traffic and the economy
On the ground, the repercussions of this tension began to appear immediately, with US aviation authorities issuing warnings to civilian aircraft to exercise caution when flying in Venezuelan airspace, citing a "deteriorating security situation and heightened military activity." In response to these warnings, six major airlines suspended their flights to and from Venezuela, representing a significant blow to the South American air transport sector.
Observers believe that isolating Venezuela by air will not only affect the political system, but will also exacerbate the humanitarian and economic crisis suffered by the Venezuelan people, as the suspension of flights will make it difficult for individuals to move and for goods to be transported, further complicating the regional landscape and pushing neighboring countries, especially Colombia, to seek diplomatic solutions to avoid an explosion of the situation.
