Trump and Maduro: Details of the call and the Venezuelan airspace crisis
In a significant development in Latin America, US President Donald Trump confirmed that he had a phone call with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, amid escalating tensions in the region. This confirmation came in response to a report published by The New York Times, with Trump offering only a brief and vague description of the conversation: "I can't say whether it went well or badly. It was just a phone call.".
Military escalation and airspace closure
This call comes at a time when the US president has declared Venezuelan airspace "completely closed," a move the Caracas government considers a "colonial threat" to the country's national sovereignty. This declaration coincides with Washington's intensification of military pressure, with US troop movements observed in the Caribbean under the pretext of combating drug trafficking—an accusation the US administration has long leveled against the Maduro regime to tighten the noose around it.
Angry regional reactions
The American announcement did not go unnoticed in the region, with Colombian President Gustavo Petro weighing in on the crisis, sharply criticizing the American statements without mentioning Trump by name. Petro questioned the legal basis for such decisions, asking, "Under what rule of international law can a head of state close the airspace of another country?" This Colombian stance reflects a shift in Bogotá's foreign policy, which seeks to maintain regional stability and rejects unilateral interventions.
Background of the US-Venezuelan conflict
To understand the depth of this crisis, one must consider the historical context of the strained relations between Washington and Caracas. For years, the United States has imposed crippling economic sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector, the lifeblood of its economy, in an attempt to force Maduro to step down. Washington considers Maduro's government illegitimate, while Venezuela accuses the United States of trying to orchestrate military coups and seize control of the country's vast oil reserves, the largest in the world.
Expected repercussions
Observers believe that closing the airspace, if implemented militarily, could lead to a direct and potentially disastrous confrontation in the Caribbean. This escalation could also push Venezuela to strengthen its alliances with international powers that are rivals to the United States, transforming South America into a new arena for international geopolitical conflict and further complicating the political and economic landscape of the entire continent.
