Recent U.S. military escalations involving Venezuela have halted flights carrying unlawful migrants from the United States back to the South American country, Venezuela’s foreign ministry said, prompting criticism from anti-intervention voices.

President Donald Trump warned pilots Saturday that the airspace «above and surrounding» Venezuela should be «closed in its entirety» as his administration weighs potential strikes on targets in and around Caracas.

«Through this action, the United States government has unilaterally suspended the Venezuelan migrant flights that were being carried out regularly and weekly as part of the repatriation of Venezuelans through the Plan Vuelta a la Patria (Return to the Homeland Plan),» the ministry said in a statement.

The deportation flights had been one of the only areas of cooperation between Washington and the government of Nicolás Maduro. Venezuelan officials say nearly 14,000 nationals have been returned on twice-weekly charter flights in recent months.

VENEZUELA AGREES TO RESUME DEPORTATION FLIGHTS IN RESPONSE TO PRESSURE FROM TRUMP

At the same time, the Trump administration has continued moving forward with plans to end temporary protected status for roughly 600,000 Venezuelans living in the United States.

«Genius. Enough with this immigration enforcement nonsense. Let’s get back to True MAGA — neocon wars that exacerbate and cause migration crises. About darn time,» said Curt Mills, executive editor of The American Conservative, criticizing the shift toward military action.

So far, U.S. strikes have targeted alleged narco-traffickers operating in the Caribbean near Venezuela. But officials have signaled that operations could expand to land-based targets as Washington increases pressure on Maduro to relinquish power.

VENEZUELA WILL FACE ‘SEVERE, AND ESCALATING SANCTIONS’ IF IT DOESN’T ACCEPT ITS CITIZENS, RUBIO SAYS

Dozens of U.S. bombers have deployed to the region alongside the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, underscoring the scale of the buildup. With U.S. bombers and the Ford already positioned in the region, much of the world is waiting to see whether Trump will green-light the next phase of strikes against Venezuelan targets.

Venezuelan migrants repatriated from the U.S. gesture seen upon arrival at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, April 4, 2025.  (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)

Venezuelan migrants flown from Guantanamo Bay via Honduras walk up a ladder after arriving on a deportation flight at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, La Guaira State, Venezuela, February 20, 2025.  (Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)

Trump confirmed he spoke with Maduro by phone recently. 

«I wouldn’t say it went well or badly. It was a phone call,» he told reporters aboard Air Force One Sunday. 

Trump presented Maduro with an ultimatum — step down or face potential U.S. military action. Maduro, the Miami Herald reported, sought global amnesty for himself, demanded to retain control of the military and resisted an immediate exit from power.

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Restraint-minded foreign policy analysts have sounded the alarm against a regime-change-driven intervention in Venezuela, arguing such a move could make migration patterns worse. 

«Escalatory dynamics could trigger regional instability and hostility, with migration flows among the most predictable consequences,» a report by Stimson Center analysts Evan Cooper and Alessandro Perri claimed. «Absent a credible transition structure inside Venezuela, external pressure is far more likely to deepen chaos — driving more Venezuelans to flee — than to produce political change.»

Analysts in the libertarian foreign-policy space have issued similar warnings. 

Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, argued that «U.S. militarized pressure on Venezuela is far more likely to worsen instability than to produce meaningful political change,» adding that history shows «coercion in Venezuela leads to unpredictable outcomes and episodes of mass flight.» 

«Escalation without a stable political alternative inside Venezuela risks accelerating the very migration pressures Washington is trying to contain,» said George A. López, a senior analyst at the Quincy Institute. 

A 19-year-old man was mauled to death after climbing into a lion enclosure Sunday morning in Brazil.

Viral video captured the incident, showing the victim scaling a roughly 26-foot-tall fence to enter the lioness’s enclosure at Arruda Câmara Zoobotanical Park, known locally as Bica, in João Pessoa, Paraíba.

Local media Correio Braziliense identified the victim as Gerson de Melo Machado who has long aspired to be a lion tamer. Machado reportedly had mental health issues and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

The zoo confirmed in a statement that the individual deliberately entered the enclosure, was attacked by the animal, and did not survive his injuries.

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«The Arruda Câmara Zoobotanical Park (Bica) deeply regrets what happened this Sunday morning, when a man deliberately invaded the lioness’s enclosure, resulting in his death,» the zoo said in a statement on social media Sunday. «This is an extremely sad episode for everyone, and we express our solidarity and condolences to the family and friends of the man.»

In the video, witnesses watched in horror as the teen climbed the towering fence and shimmied down a nearby tree. A lion in the enclosure spotted him, prowled to the base of the tree and waited as he continued his descent.

When the boy got close enough to the ground, the lion sprang on him. He tried to flee, disappearing into the bushes and briefly reappearing during his escape, only to be leapt on again by the lioness. The mauling then continued out of view behind a wall.

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Zoo patrons look through a window at a lion enclosure on Feb. 21, 2008. (Justin Sullivan)

Following the incident, the park was closed to allow for safety procedures and the removal of the body. The zoo stated that Bica will remain closed to visitors until the investigation and all official procedures are complete.

Machado had struggled with mental health issues throughout his life, and his mother had also been diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to Correio, which cited child welfare counselor Verônica Oliveira, who had been monitoring him since childhood. Oliveira told the outlet that Machado had always dreamed of traveling to Africa to become a lion tamer and was once caught hiding in the landing gear of a plane, believing it would take him there.

The zoo stated it does not plan to euthanize the lion, emphasizing that the killing resulted from deliberate trespassing, an incident that was «completely unpredictable» and «outside of any scenario within the park’s routine.»

Visitors view two lions through a window in their enclosure on July 22, 2025. (Justin Sullivan)

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The lion is reportedly stressed but shows no signs of behavior that would warrant concern for euthanasia.

«It is important to emphasize that euthanasia was never considered,» the zoo said. «Leona is healthy, does not exhibit aggressive behavior outside the context of the incident, and will not be euthanized.»

La Unión Europea anunció este lunes que trabaja en un nuevo paquete de sanciones contra Bielorrusia, a la que acusa de llevar a cabo una “campaña híbrida” contra Lituania mediante el uso creciente de globos cargados con mercancía de contrabando que han obligado a cerrar aeropuertos y reforzar la vigilancia aérea. La presidenta de la Comisión Europea, Ursula von der Leyen, afirmó en la red social X que la situación en la frontera “está empeorando” y reclamó una respuesta coordinada del bloque.

El Gobierno lituano, encabezado por el presidente Gitanas Nausėda, cerró su frontera con Bielorrusia en octubre tras detectar decenas de globos que, según sus autoridades, entraron de manera irregular en su espacio aéreo con cargamentos de cigarrillos ilegales. La decisión dejó miles de camiones atrapados en territorio bielorruso y desencadenó un intercambio de acusaciones entre ambos países, que mantienen relaciones tensas desde hace varios años.

Según Von der Leyen, la UE ultima medidas adicionales dentro del marco de sanciones vigente desde 2020, cuando el bloque castigó al régimen de Aleksandr Lukashenko por la represión de protestas internas y, posteriormente, por su apoyo a la invasión rusa de Ucrania en 2022. El régimen bielorruso ha sido objeto de sanciones sucesivas a causa de la persecución de la oposición, el uso de migrantes para presionar a los países vecinos y la cooperación militar con Moscú.

El mismo lunes, Bielorrusia citó al encargado de negocios lituano en Minsk, Erikas Vilkanecas, para protestar por la supuesta incursión de un dron procedente de territorio lituano. El Ministerio de Exteriores bielorruso aseguró en un comunicado que se trató de una “violación” de su frontera y que el aparato había sido programado para regresar a Lituania tras sobrevolar parte de su territorio.

Las autoridades bielorrusas difundieron que, tras revisar datos de navegación y material audiovisual, concluyeron que el vuelo del dron constituía una amenaza para su seguridad y una infracción del derecho internacional. El portavoz del ministerio, Ruslan Varankov, sostuvo que el incidente se sumaba a un patrón de supuestas provocaciones por parte de Vilna.

Lituania negó semanas atrás que su cierre fronterizo buscara generar tensión adicional y acusó a Minsk de utilizar a los conductores de camiones como instrumento de presión. Vilnius ha calificado la situación de los transportistas atrapados en Bielorrusia como “chantaje”, ya que la mercancía retenida representa millones de euros en pérdidas para empresas lituanas.

El Servicio Europeo de Acción Exterior también convocó este lunes al representante diplomático de Bielorrusia ante la UE para trasladarle su protesta formal por actos que considera “híbridos” y que “suponen una amenaza para la Unión”. Según Bruselas, los vuelos de globos con contrabando y la crisis de los camiones forman parte de una estrategia más amplia del Gobierno de Lukashenko para desestabilizar a los países vecinos.

Las tensiones entre Lituania y Bielorrusia se han intensificado desde 2021, cuando la UE acusó a Minsk de facilitar la llegada de migrantes desde Medio Oriente hacia las fronteras de Lituania y Polonia. La Comisión Europea calificó entonces esta actuación como un intento deliberado de instrumentalizar los flujos migratorios para presionar al bloque comunitario.

El bloque comunitario mantiene desde hace cuatro años un régimen de sanciones progresivo que incluye restricciones financieras, prohibiciones de viaje y congelación de activos contra dirigentes bielorrusos, entre ellos Lukashenko y miembros de su familia. La UE acusa al mandatario, en el poder desde 1994, de sostener su Gobierno mediante prácticas autoritarias y de actuar como aliado estratégico de Rusia.

El deterioro de la relación entre Minsk y Vilna se enmarca en un contexto regional marcado por la guerra en Ucrania. Bielorrusia permitió que Rusia utilizara su territorio como plataforma para la invasión de febrero de 2022, lo que reforzó la percepción de amenaza en las repúblicas bálticas.

La UE deberá definir ahora el alcance del nuevo paquete de sanciones, que podría incluir ampliaciones al listado de personas designadas y nuevas restricciones económicas. Bruselas sostiene que las medidas buscan frenar la presión bielorrusa sobre la frontera europea y enviar una señal política clara al Gobierno de Lukashenko sobre los límites de su actuación.