Trump announces full blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers
Photo: Donald Trump, President of the United States (Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump said he has ordered a full blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers heading to or departing from Venezuela, according to Bloomberg and Trump’s post on Truth Social.
"Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America," Trump wrote on social media Tuesday. "It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us."
US President Donald Trump also said that the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been designated a "foreign terrorist organization."
He accused Maduro’s "illegitimate" regime of "using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping."
Trump said he was ordering a full blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers heading to and from Venezuela, stressing that the United States would not allow criminals, terrorists, or other countries to plunder, threaten, or harm the nation, nor would it permit a hostile regime to take assets that he said should be immediately returned to the US.
Several hours before the post, the US leader announced that he would address the nation tomorrow at 9:00 PM local time (4:00 AM Kyiv time). What Trump intends to say remains unknown.
US–Venezuela confrontation
Bloomberg notes that the blockade order marks an escalation of pressure by the Trump administration on Maduro, whom it accuses of running a drug trafficking operation.
Last week, the US seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. In addition, a flotilla of four tankers that had been heading toward Venezuela changed course after the US seized the tanker Skipper.
The Pentagon has carried out more than 20 strikes against vessels allegedly involved in drug trafficking. These operations took place in waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in dozens of deaths.
Trump has repeatedly stated that the US could carry out strikes on targets on land and that Maduro should be removed from power.
For its part, Maduro’s government has described US actions as an attempt to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves, the largest in the world.
Reuters previously reported in November that the Trump administration was planning to launch a new phase of operations related to Venezuela, although the agency was unable to determine the timing of those operations.
