The skies above Venezuela have become a new flashpoint in a rapidly escalating standoff between the United States and the government of President Nicolás Maduro, as American authorities warn airlines of growing dangers and military maneuvers intensify in the Caribbean. On November 22, 2025, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a stark warning to major airlines: flying over Venezuela now presents a “potentially hazardous situation” due to a worsening security climate and heightened military activity. The move comes amid a massive U.S. military buildup in the region, the largest in generations, and mounting speculation that the Trump administration is preparing to launch a new phase of operations against the embattled South American nation.
The warning from the FAA followed the arrival of the U.S. Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, in the Caribbean Sea. According to Reuters, the Ford’s carrier strike group—which includes guided-missile destroyers, squadrons of fighter jets, and at least seven other warships—transited the Anegada Passage near the British Virgin Islands on November 16, 2025. The U.S. deployment also features a nuclear submarine and F-35 aircraft, rounding off what military officials describe as the most significant increase in American firepower in the region in decades.
Since September, U.S. forces have carried out at least 21 strikes on small boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, targeting vessels accused of ferrying drugs to the United States. These operations have resulted in at least 83 deaths, according to reporting by Reuters and The New York Times. The FAA’s notice cited not only the “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela,” but also an uptick in Global Navigation Satellite System interference—sometimes affecting entire flights—as well as “activity associated with increasing Venezuela military readiness.” The agency requires U.S. airlines to provide at least 72 hours’ advance notice of planned flights over Venezuela, but stopped short of banning such routes outright.
Venezuela, for its part, has conducted multiple military exercises and ordered the mass mobilization of thousands of military and reserve forces. The FAA noted that Venezuela possesses advanced fighter aircraft and weapons systems capable of reaching or exceeding civil aircraft altitudes, and warned of potential low-altitude risks from air defense systems and anti-aircraft artillery. While the Venezuelan government has not expressed an intent to target civil aviation, the risks are now considered too great to ignore. Three international airlines canceled flights departing from Venezuela on Saturday following the FAA’s warning, Reuters reported.
The U.S. military buildup is not just about deterrence. Four U.S. officials told Reuters that the Trump administration is poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations within days, including possible covert operations and attempts to overthrow President Maduro. “President Trump is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,” a senior administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Pentagon referred questions to the White House, and the CIA declined to comment.
The Trump administration has accused Maduro of leading the so-called Cartel de los Soles, an alleged criminal organization said to be responsible for smuggling drugs into the United States. On November 24, the U.S. plans to designate the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, which officials say would allow Washington to strike Maduro’s assets and infrastructure in Venezuela. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently declared that the terrorist designation “brings a whole bunch of new options to the United States.” In August, the administration doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $50 million.
Yet, the evidence for Venezuela’s central role in the global drug trade is highly contested. Pino Arlacchi, former head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), told The Final Call that decades of annual reports on drug trafficking never once mention Venezuela. “The Cartel de los Soles does not actually exist—it is a U.S. intelligence invention used to criminalize Venezuelan officials wholesale and manufacture a pretext for intervention,” Arlacchi said. The name, he explained, refers to the insignia worn by Venezuelan military personnel. In his memoir, former FBI Director James Comey recounted that Trump once told him Maduro’s government was “sitting on a mountain of oil that we have to buy.” Arlacchi concluded, “This is not about drugs, crime or national security. It is about oil that the U.S. would rather not pay for.”
The U.S. public appears unconvinced by the administration’s justification for intervention. Polling shows that opposition to using military force to overthrow Maduro outweighs support by a wide margin—45% oppose regime change, while only 17% favor it. A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 51% of respondents disapproved of the boat strikes that have killed dozens, nearly double the 29% who approved.
Legal and international concerns are mounting as well. According to The New York Times, the top military lawyer for U.S. Southern Command raised concerns in August that the boat strikes could amount to extrajudicial killings, potentially exposing service members to prosecution. His warnings were overruled, and Admiral Alvin Holsey, the commander of Southern Command, resigned in October, reportedly over concerns about the legality of the operations. Several U.S. allies—including Britain, France, Canada, and the Netherlands—have refused to share intelligence for the Caribbean operations, citing fears of legal exposure. British officials have described the attacks as illegal and warned that those who carry them out could face prosecution for war crimes and acts of piracy.
Venezuela is hardly standing still. The Maduro government has responded to U.S. threats by mobilizing military exercises and preparing for what it calls “prolonged resistance” in the event of invasion. This approach would involve small military units at more than 280 locations carrying out sabotage and guerrilla tactics, according to state television and years-old planning documents obtained by Reuters. Maduro has stated that Venezuelan citizens and the military will resist any attempt to oust him and has characterized U.S. actions as an effort to seize control of the country’s vast oil reserves and other resources. Venezuela holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world and is rich in gold, coltan, and other minerals. At the same time, Maduro has expressed a willingness to resolve differences through diplomacy and face-to-face talks.
As the clock ticks down to a possible new phase of U.S. operations, the region—and the world—watch anxiously. The FAA’s warning to airlines is just one symptom of a broader crisis that could soon escalate beyond rhetoric and military posturing. Whether the coming days bring covert action, open conflict, or a last-minute diplomatic breakthrough remains to be seen, but the stakes for Venezuela, the United States, and the international order are higher than they have been in years.
