Palm Beach, Florida (CNN) — The United States continued its pressure campaign against Venezuela on Saturday as President Donald Trump issued a broad directive on social media, warning airlines, pilots and criminal networks to avoid Venezuelan airspace.

“Please consider the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela to be closed in its entirety,” he wrote in a Truth Social post.

The announcement marks the latest turn of the wheel as the Trump administration intensifies its efforts to force Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro out of office. Officially, the Trump administration says it is working to cut down on illegal flows of migrants and drugs — but regime change is a possible side effect of those efforts.

Venezuela’s foreign minister denounced Trump’s Saturday directive, calling it a

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