US President Donald Trump says the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela should be considered “closed in its entirety” but has given no further details.

“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 Truth Social post.

It comes as the US has deployed the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, and about 15,000 troops to within striking distance of Venezuela, the BBC reports.

The US claims the massive deployment is aimed at combating drug trafficking.

The US military has had a massive build-up in the Caribbean and has been striking suspected drug boats off Venezuela’s coast for nearly three months.

Venezuela’s communications ministry, which handles all press inquiries for the government, did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Trump’s post.

Trump’s administration has been weighing options to combat what it has portrayed as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed US citizens.

The socialist Venezuelan president has denied having any links to the illegal drug trade.

Maduro, in power since 2013, has contended that Trump is seeking to oust him and that Venezuelan citizens and the military will resist any such attempt.

The streets of Caracas were largely quiet on Saturday morning, although some people braved rain to go shopping.

Trump’s announcement on Venezuela’s airspace followed a warning last week from the US Federal Aviation Administration that major airlines faced a “potentially hazardous situation” when flying over Venezuela due to a “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around” the country.

Venezuela revoked operating rights for six major international airlines that had suspended flights to the country after the FAA warning.

David Deptula, a retired lieutenant general who commanded a no-fly zone over northern Iraq in 1998 and 1999, said Trump’s announcement raises more questions than it answers.

Imposing a no-fly zone over Venezuela could require significant resources and planning, depending on the goals of the airspace closure, he said.

“The devil’s in the details,” Deptula said.

-with AAP