Trump Gives Maduro Final Warning as U.S. Closes Venezuelan Airspace

President Donald Trump delivered a final ultimatum to Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro this weekend, demanding his immediate resignation and offering a guaranteed evacuation for him and his inner circle. When Maduro balked, Trump took swift action declaring Venezuela’s airspace "closed in its entirety" and putting military assets on high alert.

According to The Miami Herald, the White House’s call to Caracas included an exit plan for Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, and their son. But Maduro reportedly stalled the deal by demanding amnesty for his regime’s crimes and insisting on retaining control over the military. Washington flatly rejected both demands.

“The clearing of the airspace is a clear public warning,” said Vanessa Neumann, a former Venezuelan diplomat. “Missiles might be coming to take out command and control infrastructure.”

Neumann, now a defense consultant with deep knowledge of Venezuela’s narco-state apparatus, told Fox News Digital that U.S. operations are now imminent. The targets have reportedly been mapped for years through covert operations, and a "capture-or-kill" scenario is on the table.

Trump, speaking aboard Air Force One, was deliberately vague about military plans, telling reporters not to “read anything into” the closure of airspace. But behind the scenes, it’s clear that Venezuela’s rogue regime is entering its final chapter.

What’s really at stake?

• The Cartel de los Soles, a narco-trafficking syndicate deeply embedded in the Venezuelan government, has now been formally designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S.

• The cartel is accused of turning Venezuela’s oil infrastructure into a global money-laundering and drug-smuggling hub, working hand-in-glove with Colombian cocaine producers.

• It has also funneled money to Hezbollah, helping finance terror operations that have killed Americans in the Middle East.

Neumann explained that Venezuelan military aircraft have been used to move drugs through Central America and into Europe, with regime-linked pilots reaping huge profits while silencing dissent through torture, disappearances, and assassinations.

“They’re now one of the prime drug trafficking networks into the United States and Europe,” she said.

Maduro's regime has long relied on foreign backing from Russia, Iran, and China, but those alliances are starting to fray. With Russia bogged down in Ukraine, Iran facing internal unrest, and China pursuing broader strategic interests elsewhere, Maduro finds himself increasingly isolated.

Neumann noted that military hardware is outdated and neglected, with Venezuelan forces lacking both the personnel and the firepower to defend against a coordinated U.S. operation.

“They’ve got junk from the Russians,” she said. “Their material is extremely old and has not been serviced. They don’t have foreign support. They don’t even have the personnel.”

Despite decades of repression and fraudulent elections, the Venezuelan people have consistently sought freedom through peaceful, democratic means. As Neumann put it:

“They voted in elections, protested peacefully, lobbied for sanctions, and lobbied for international support.”

Now, it appears their calls are finally being answered.

Alongside Maduro, several regime figures may be in the crosshairs:

• Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s Vice President

• Diosdado Cabello, longtime regime strongman

• Alexander Granko Arteaga, head of Venezuela’s counterintelligence agency

Granko in particular is seen as a key figure preventing regime collapse by using brutal tactics to keep the military in line.

“Hundreds of soldiers have been tortured by DGCIM,” Neumann said. “That’s one of the reasons there hasn’t been an uprising.”

While Biden waffles on foreign policy and empowers adversaries through weakness and confusion, Trump is restoring America’s credibility and leverage on the world stage. His Venezuela policy blends hard power with clarity of purpose: end the narco-regime, dismantle the terrorist networks, and give Venezuela’s people the chance to reclaim their country.

With airspace now sealed and Maduro’s window closing fast, the world is watching for what comes next.

“The decision is President Trump's,” said Neumann. “When he says, ‘Go,’ we go. And nobody knows when he'll say that.”

The dictator in Caracas may be running out of time.

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