Washington, May 17 (RHC)-- The U.S. Department of Transportation has ordered a halt to all passenger and cargo flights in and out of Venezuela, in the latest move by the the Trump administration to ratchet up pressure on President Nicolás Maduro as it backs efforts by opposition groups to stage a coup d’état.

This comes as the U.S. authorized a blatantly illegal raid on the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, DC on Thursday. Four members of the Embassy Protection Coalition were forcibly arrested and charged with trespassing.

Legal observers say it is actually the United States that is now 'trespassing' on territory that belongs to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.