United States President Donald Trump's declaration that the airspace over Venezuela should be considered closed is the latest salvo in his campaign to escalate pressure on the country's leader, Nicolás Maduro Moros.
The Trump administration has been amassing the largest contingent of US military forces in the Caribbean and Central America in decades, after months of lethal air strikes on vessels accused of shipping drugs north to the US.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington DC that the president was scheduled to hold a meeting on Monday evening, local time, with his national security team in the Oval Office to discuss Venezuela.
"There's many options at the president's disposal that are on the table," Ms Leavitt said.
[DW US VENEZUELA]Mr Maduro has denounced the airspace closure declaration, labelling it "a colonialist threat" that marked "a new extravagant, illegal and unjustified aggression against the people of Venezuela".
"We're making a direct call to the international community, to the sovereign governments of the world, to the United Nations and to corresponding multilateral organisations, to firmly reject this act of immoral aggression," a government statement said.
As pressure continues to mount on the Venezuelan president, the country's allies and opponents have begun revealing where their support lies.
Venezuela's global allies
Since the turn of the century and the election of former socialist president Hugo Chavez, Venezuela has expanded diplomatic ties across the world while distancing itself from the US.
Venezuela's global alliances are with Russia, China, Iran and Türkiye, which are all countries Mr Maduro or representatives of his government have met or spoken with in recent months.
[GLOBAL MAP]Russia continues to be Venezuela's most significant supporter.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced last month that Moscow was in close contact with Venezuela and was monitoring the situation in the Caribbean.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Marka Zakharova said the Kremlin denounced the United States's "use of excessive military force in carrying out anti-drugs operations".
"Such actions are in violation of both US domestic legislation … and the norms of international law," Ms Zakharova said in a statement.
Those comments came after Mr Maduro and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Moscow in May and signed a strategic agreement to promote bilateral oil and energy interests.
Russia is also Venezuela's main military supporter, after decades of arming the South American country with fighter jets, weapons and missiles following an arms deal signed under Mr Chavez, according to the US-based Council on Foreign Relations.
Venezuela bought about 20 Russian Sukhoi fighter jets in the 2000s, which are now considered outdated when compared to the B-2 aircraft used by the US Air Force.
The Venezuelan army also owns Russian-made helicopters, tanks and 5,000 shoulder-fired Igla missiles.
When Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Venezuelan counterpart Yván Gil in Beijing in May, Mr Yi described the two countries' relationship as "good friends with mutual trust and good partners for common development".
Throughout the Maduro regime, China has become a strong economic and ideological partner of Venezuela.
"China is ready to work with Venezuela to strengthen unity and cooperation, advocate and practice multilateralism, safeguard their own legitimate rights and interests, defend the common interests of developing countries, and promote mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Latin America," Mr Yi said in a statement in May.
The foreign minister also delivered a pointed warning to the US.
"China is ready to work with Venezuela and other Latin American countries to oppose hegemonic and bullying practices, and uphold international justice," Mr Yi said.
The bilateral relationship has been underlined by up to $US10 million ($15.2 million) in loans owed by Venezuela to China.
Nicolas Maduro Guerra, the president's son, told Reuters last year that the countries' relationship was "foolproof and weatherproof" and confirmed that Venezuela would be open to repaying its debt.
China is also a major player in Venezuela's oil and gas industry. In 2007 it reached a $US50 billion ($76.44 billion) agreement for credit lines and loans-for-oil deals with Mr Chavez.
Tehran is a political and ideological ally of Venezuela and developed closer diplomatic ties with the country during the rise of Mr Chavez.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said last month his country condemned the actions of the US in the Caribbean as "aggressive unilateralism" and announced an "expanding cooperation at bilateral and multilateral levels" with Venezuela.
"The threat of using force against Venezuela [is] a clear and flagrant violation of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and peremptory norms of international law," Mr Araghchi said in a statement.
After Mr Trump announced the closure of Venezuelan airspace, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei continued the rhetoric, labelling the move a "blatant violation of international norms and fundamental rules of international law".
Bilateral relations between Türkiye and Venezuela have existed for more than seven decades, although the countries' partnership has mostly been economic in recent years, according to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mr Maduro last went to Türkiye in 2022 and the first time Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Caracas was in 2018 during a joint business forum.
The ministry says that by the end of 2021, trade between the two countries accounted for about $US852 million ($1.3 billion).
Balance of support in the region
While some countries in Central and South America have voiced support for Mr Maduro, some of Venezuela's neighbours have aligned themselves with the US.
[REGIONAL MAP]Amid the US military build-up in the region, the Dominican President Luis Abinader last week announced he would temporarily authorise the Trump administration to land its aircraft inside restricted areas to refuel.
During a press conference with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in the capital Santo Domingo, Mr Abinader said he would permit transport equipment and technical personnel to be housed at the San Isidro Air Base and Las Americas International Airport.
"The purpose is clear: to strengthen the air and maritime protection ring maintained by our armed forces, a decisive reinforcement to prevent the entry of narcotics and to strike a more decisive blow against transnational organised crime," he said.
A statement issued later by Mr Abinader's office revealed that Dominican tanker aircraft would also be used in support of US air patrol missions and regional monitoring.
"They would also provide refuelling services to aircraft from partner countries, thus ensuring sustained operations for monitoring, detecting, and tracking verified illicit smuggling activities," a presidency statement said.
That announcement was the first major agreement made between the two countries.
"The Dominican Republic has stepped up," Mr Hegseth said at the press conference.
Mr Abinader told reporters that the Dominican Republic had seized almost 10 times more drugs per year since 2020 than in the previous decade. He attributed that increase to the support the US had shown the country.
"Our country faces a real threat, a threat that knows no borders, no flags, that destroys families, and that has been trying to use our territory for decades," Mr Abinader said.
"That threat is drug trafficking, and no country can or should confront it without allies."
Separated by a 16 kilometre sea channel, Trinidad and Tobago is one of Venezuela's closest geographic neighbours.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar told reporters last week that US Marines were stationed at an airport on the island of Tobago, which was also working to develop its radar, runway and roads.
"They will help us to improve our surveillance and the intelligence of the radars for the narco-traffickers in our waters and outside our waters," she said, according to The Associated Press.
Ms Persad-Bissessar also met with the US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the military, General Dan Caine, last week.
The prime minister has been a vocal supporter of the US strikes on alleged drug trafficking vessels.
"I, along with most of the country, am happy that the US naval deployment is having success in their mission," Ms Persad-Bissessar said in a statement in September after a strike that killed 11 people.
"The pain and suffering the cartels have inflicted on our nation is immense. I have no sympathy for traffickers; the US military should kill them all violently."
In October, Mr Maduro announced Venezuelan authorities had thwarted what it called a CIA-linked false flag operation in Trinidad, which it claimed aimed to attack a US warship docked at the Port of Spain.
[DW Port of Spain]Mr Maduro in October also revealed that Venezuela had suspended energy-development cooperation with Trinidad and Tobago.
Colombia continues to be one of the strongest allies of the US in South America, although the relationship between the two countries has been strained this year.
In September, President Gustavo Petro accused the US of violating international law after his visa was revoked because of critical comments he made about Israel's actions in Gaza.
Mr Petro made the comments during a rally in New York City, which he had been visiting to take part in the United Nations General Assembly.
"Trump, distance yourself from Hitler; there is still time," he said in a social media post at the time.
Colombia also recalled its ambassador to the US in October, hours after Mr Trump announced he would increase tariffs on the South American country because he considered Mr Petro to be an "illegal drug leader".
After Mr Trump declared the closure of Venezuelan airspace, Mr Petro slammed the statement as "completely illegal".
"There is no authorisation from the United Nations Security Council for military actions against our neighbour," Mr Petro said in a statement posted to X on Monday.
"The US Senate has not given authorisation for an armed intervention. The international order should preserve Latin America and the Caribbean should say it without fear.
"Venezuela needs more democracy and the democracy is a product only of its internal forces and its people."
While Mr Petro has thrown his support behind a return to democracy in Venezuela, he has not publicly backed the leadership of Mr Maduro.
The president said in a post on X last month that he engaged with representatives of the US, European Union and Venezuela during the Biden administration to oversee a "power-sharing government" in Caracas that would enforce free and fair elections.
In another post on Monday, Mr Petro said he believes Mr Trump should meet with Venezuelan representatives in a bid to restore democracy. The Colombian president offered Cartagena — the nation's sixth-largest city — as a potential location.
Cuba has long been an ally of Venezuela and last week accused Mr Trump of seeking to violently spark regime change in Caracas.
The Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said the US overthrowing Mr Maduro's government would be a dangerous and irresponsible violation of international law.
"We appeal to the people of the United States to stop this madness," he said in a statement.
"The US government could cause an incalculable number of deaths and create a scenario of violence and instability in the hemisphere that would be unimaginable."
Puerto Rico is a US territorial island situated alongside the Dominican Republic. Active US military aircraft have in recent weeks been seen at the former Roosevelt Roads naval base, according to Reuters.
A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter and three MV-22 Osprey aircraft have been seen at the base, while a US Coast Guard helicopter has been seen performing fly-overs around the facility.
Construction activity at the former naval base in Puerto Rico — shuttered by the navy more than 20 years ago — was underway on September 17 when crews began clearing and repaving taxiways leading to the runway, according to photos taken by Reuters.
Until the navy withdrew from the facility in 2004, Roosevelt Roads was one of the biggest US naval stations in the world.
The base occupies a strategic location and offers a large amount of space for gathering equipment, one US official said.
Venezuela's eastern neighbour, Guyana, has not publicly confirmed whether it is supportive of the US or its strikes on alleged drug trafficking vessels.
Despite that, tensions between Venezuela and Guyana have escalated significantly since 2023 over a long-running territorial dispute, according to Reuters.
The conflict began after Venezuela found about 11 million barrels of recoverable oil and gas off the coast of Guyana, and Mr Maduro promised to begin drilling operations.
Guyana has also been waging a legal battle in the Court of International Justice in a bid to resolve the border dispute.
ABC/AP/Reuters
