President Trump’s statements on social media less than 24 hours apart showed the dissonance in his campaign against drug trafficking.

US President Donald Trump has said that the airspace around Venezuela should be considered closed. "To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY," Trump said in a social media post.

U.S. pressure on Venezuela could give Trump leverage over its oil, with broad economic and geopolitical effects.

They discussed a possible meeting between the two of them, but nothing has been scheduled, and the administration continues to increase the military pressure on Venezuela.

Vladimir Padrino López, defence minister for the past 11 years, has maintained the regime’s tight grip over the armed forces and acted as a link to Moscow, which supplies most of Venezuela’s weapons. He and interior minister Diosdado Cabello, who controls the police and prisons, guarantee control and ensure dissent is swiftly repressed.

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