A few hours after US President Donald Trump warned pilots and traffickers to consider Venezuelan airspace"completely closed," the Venezuelan government responded in strong terms, calling the US tycoon's declaration"a hostile, unilateral, and arbitrary act."

The person in charge of giving voice to the position of the Nicolás Maduro regime was Foreign Minister Yván Gil Pinto, who also criticized that"unprecedentedly" Trump is trying to "give orders and threaten the sovereignty" of Venezuela.

Yván Gil Pinto, Venezuelan Foreign Minister. EFE/Mario Caicedo

"Venezuela demands unrestricted respect for its airspace, protected under the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)," the foreign minister warned in a lengthy message posted on the Telegram social network.

And he stressed that his country"will not accept orders, threats or interference from any foreign power."

"This type of declaration constitutes a hostile, unilateral and arbitrary act, incompatible with the most basic principles of International Law and is part of a permanent policy of aggression against our country, with colonial pretensions over our region of Latin America," the Foreign Minister's statement said.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro dances at an event following a march for Venezuelan Student Day. EFE/Miguel Gutiérrez

Furthermore, he stressed that the statements made by Donald Trump this morning on his Truth Social network"represent an explicit threat of the use of force", a situation that is"clearly and unequivocally prohibited" by the Charter of the United Nations.

After noting that Trump's attitude constitutes an"attempt at intimidation," the foreign minister also pointed out that "no authority outside of Venezuelan institutions has the power to interfere with, block, or condition the use of national airspace."

The Maduro administration also condemned the United States' unilateral suspension of flights carrying Venezuelan migrants, a decision made by Trump. It further noted that 75 repatriation flights have been carried out, bringing back 13,956 Venezuelan migrants who have been received with love and absolute solidarity, alluding to the bilateral agreement reached in January between the two countries, which severed diplomatic relations in 2019.

In his message, the Venezuelan foreign minister called on the"sovereign governments of the world," the United Nations, and international organizations"to firmly reject this immoral act."

US President Donald Trump holds a model of the Arc de Triomphe during a reception at the White House EFE/ Jim Lo Scalzo

Around 10 a.m. this Saturday, Trump had posted a message on his social network warning"all airlines, pilots, drug traffickers and human traffickers" to "be aware that the airspace over and around Venezuela will remain closed in its entirety."

The US president's cryptic message came a day after The New York Times revealed an alleged phone conversation he had with Maduro seeking a possible meeting, something that has not been officially confirmed or denied by either party.

With information from EFE