(MENAFN- Live Mint) President Donald Trump on Sunday said that his social-media message declaring Venezuelan airspace“closed” shouldn't be overinterpreted. The Saturday morning post, directed at airlines and“drug dealers”, had heightened regional concerns about potential US military action in Venezuela. According to Bloomberg, while speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump stated, "Don't read anything into it. We consider Venezuela to be not a very friendly country.”

He confirmed he had spoken to President Nicolas Maduro during a phone call but refuted to provide details on how it went.“I wouldn't say it went well or badly,” he stated.

What did Trump say in his social media post earlier?

Trump said in a Truth social post from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida,“To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers. Please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY."

Meanwhile, the United States is expanding its operations in the Caribbean, a campaign that started with deadly attacks on boats in international waters and escalated with the deployment of more Navy vessels, including an aircraft carrier, fueling speculation about a possible strike on Venezuela. Trump also played down Republican concerns about whether a deadly attack on a damaged boat in the Caribbean may have been unlawful.

Also Read | US told Maduro to flee, Rep Senator says: 'Go to Russia or another country'

The Pentagon is under growing scrutiny following a Washington Post report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered lethal strikes on boats and insisted that everyone on board be killed. According to the report, this directive resulted in a second strike on Sept. 2 targeting the damaged hull of a boat to kill two survivors who had been injured in the initial attack.

Trump mentioned,“I'm going to find out about it, but Pete said he did not order the death of those two men.” When asked if a follow-up strike would have been lawful, he responded,“No, I wouldn't have wanted that, not a second strike. The first strike was very lethal.”

Also Read | Kristi Noem defied court ban on deportations of Venezuelan gang members: DOJ

Experts say the naval attacks were already being conducted on questionable legal grounds, and they've been causing unease among US partners. The administration maintains that the boats qualify as lawful targets because they are allegedly transporting drugs.

Trump said he wasn't worried about potential legal disputes“because you can see the boats. You can see the drugs in the boats, and each boat is responsible for killing 25,000 Americans. So I think they do an amazing job".

The report of a second strike carried out to kill injured survivors prompted unusual criticism from Republican lawmakers. Ohio Representative Mike Turner told CBS on Sunday that, if verified, such an action would be an“illegal act,” while Nebraska's Don Bacon told ABC it would be a“clear violation of the law of war".

(With agency inputs)

MENAFN30112025007365015876ID1110416706