Venezuela's airspace becomes another battlefield

"Venezuela's skies have become another battlefront. For the past week, what seemed like just another element of Washington's hybrid offensive against Caracas has transformed into a vast, silent battlefield isolating the country. Venezuelan airspace is now the scene of threats, warnings, canceled flights, and military maneuvers fueling a conflict with an uncertain outcome. At around 1:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, air traffic trackers showed an unusual picture:"

"On those maps saturated with tiny, colorful planes, Venezuela stands out like a huge black hole. For the first time in a long time, a sky once teeming with international connections now appears as a forbidden territory. Donald Trump's message is clear: Caracas will be isolated in the skies as well. Washington's strategy is aimed at creating a void, and turning airspace isolation into yet another instrument of political pressure."

"Donald Trump's call on social media last Saturday to consider the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela to be closed in its entirety was a further turn of the screw. Imposing an exclusion zone doesn't seem like a measure Trump could implement from the Oval Office, but it serves as a warning for everyone. It induces airlines to avoid the route, fuels the perception of risk, and increases the symbolic pressure he has been exerting on Nicolas Maduro's government."

Venezuelan airspace has been effectively isolated over the past week, with threats, warnings, canceled flights, and military maneuvers creating a silent battlefield. Air-traffic trackers showed only seven aircraft crossing the country at peak observation, leaving previously busy routes nearly empty. U.S. rhetoric, including a presidential social-media call to treat Venezuelan airspace as closed, has pressured airlines to avoid the routes and heightened perceptions of risk. Washington's strategy aims to create a void that reduces goods and mobility. President Nicolás Maduro sent a letter to OPEC and member states accusing Washington of attempting to seize Venezuela's oil reserves by force.

Read at english.elpais.com