By Gabe WhisnantShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberThe Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday urged pilots to “exercise caution” when flying in Venezuelan airspace, citing a deteriorating security environment and increased military activity around the country. The agency said unspecified threats “could pose a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes,” including planes taking off and landing, as well as those positioned on the ground.
The advisory comes as the Trump administration intensifies its pressure campaign on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the United States does not recognize as the country’s legitimate leader. In recent months, the U.S. military has flown bomber missions up to Venezuela’s coastline—some designed to simulate strike scenarios—and deployed the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and several destroyers to the region. The buildup amounts to the largest U.S. military presence in Caribbean waters near Venezuela in decades.
...U.S. forces have also escalated operations targeting maritime drug trafficking networks believed to be moving narcotics to the United States. Since early September, U.S. strikes on small vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific have killed more than 80 people, according to the administration.
Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general at the Department of Transportation, said FAA warnings of this kind are standard during periods of international instability, but she urged crews not to dismiss the notice.
“I wouldn’t take it as necessarily meaning an attack is imminent because I’ve seen these issued many times before,” she said. “But as a pilot myself, I’d certainly heed it.”
Schiavo said it is unclear whether the FAA's alert reflects concerns that Venezuela may take military action or whether the United States is preparing additional operations in the region. “It’s hard to know what’s behind it,” she said.
The Pentagon referred questions about the alert to the FAA, which said only that the notice would remain in effect for 90 days.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
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