Colombia slams Trump's declaration on Venezuela airspace closure

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday condemned U.S. President Donald Trump's declaration on the closure of Venezuela's airspace, urging countries to uphold the international order.

Trump said on Saturday that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela should be considered closed "in its entirety."

"No airline should accept illegal orders regarding the airspace of any country," said Petro on social media, urging Trump to "go back to respecting the international legal order."

He called on Latin American countries to demand respect for regional sovereignty and to resume normal flights, stressing that only Venezuelans have the right to choose their government.

The Colombian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the U.S. move was creating "unnecessary tension" that undermines Latin America's stability. Uncoordinated actions over the airspace of a sovereign state are contrary to the spirit of cooperation, good faith and mutual respect that should guide relations among states of the region, it said.

The Ministry, in a separate statement, announced that Colombia has initiated a plan to reinforce inter-agency and technical coordination. This measure aims to ensure the continuity and safety of civil air traffic between Colombia, Venezuela and other regional nations.

Also on Sunday, Latin American think tank MundoSur issued a statement condemning and expressing deep concern over Trump's declaration regarding the closure of Venezuela's airspace.

The statement argued that this constitutes hostile rhetoric outside the bounds of international law and represents a threat of force -- a clear violation of the U.N. Charter's prohibition against the use of force. It further asserts that the U.S. remarks breach International Civil Aviation Organization norms and constitute an infringement upon the national sovereignty and airspace rights of another country.

The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Wednesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.32 percent to 99.648 at 1900 GMT.

In late New York trading, the euro was up to 1.1607 dollars from 1.1523 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound climbed to 1.3324 dollars from 1.3189 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 158.82 Japanese yen, lower than 158.95 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.7931 Swiss francs from 0.8008 Swiss francs, and it was down to 1.3895 Canadian dollars from 1.3937 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar slipped to 9.3935 Swedish kronor from 9.4895 Swedish kronor.