President Donald Trump introduced Tuesday what he known as a “blockade” of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers, ratcheting up American stress on the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
“Venezuela is totally surrounded by the most important Armada ever assembled within the Historical past of South America,” Trump wrote in a prolonged put up on his social media platform. “It’ll solely get greater, and the shock to them shall be like nothing they’ve ever seen earlier than — Till such time as they return to america of America the entire Oil, Land, and different Belongings that they beforehand stole from us.”
It was not instantly clear what stolen oil and land Trump was referring to. Nonetheless, below Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan authorities expropriated property from some American oil firms after the nation nationalized oil fields in 2007.
President Donald Trump speaks throughout a Mexican Border Protection Medal presentation within the Oval Workplace of the White Home in Washington, December 15, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
Within the put up, Trump introduced “A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela” and demanded the return of oil and property.
The Venezuelan authorities responded to Trump’s put up, calling his declaration a “reckless and critical risk,” towards the nation that it says violates worldwide regulation, free commerce and freedom of navigation.
“The President of america intends to impose in a fully irrational method, a supposed naval navy blockade on Venezuela with the target of stealing the wealth that belongs to our homeland,” the Venezuelan authorities stated in an announcement.
The U.S. at present has 11 warships within the Caribbean — essentially the most in a long time — however even with a stepped-up presence, that will possible not be sufficient to place in place a blockade within the conventional sense, which includes sealing a rustic’s shoreline fully.
Reuters reported final week the fleet of sanctioned ships serving to transfer Venezuelan oil numbered about 30. Based on Tanker Trackers, there are greater than a dozen sanctioned tankers in Venezuelan waters in the intervening time.
Final week, the U.S. seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela that officers stated was concerned in a bootleg oil delivery community supporting overseas terrorist organizations and used to move oil between the South American nation and Iran. The oil tanker was headed to Cuba.
Individually, since September, the U.S. navy has launched dozens of strikes on vessels allegedly carrying medicine — strikes the Trump administration has stated are about stopping the circulate of medication into the U.S.
Trump’s put up Tuesday night got here after White Home Chief of Workers Susie Wiles was quoted in Vanity Fair as saying that Trump “desires to maintain on blowing boats up till Maduro cries uncle.”
Within the put up on Tuesday, Trump denounced Maduro’s authorities as a “Hostile Regime.”
Whereas the U.S. has lengthy thought-about Maduro the top of a corrupt dictatorial regime, Trump final month, in an unprecedented transfer, declared him the head of a foreign terrorist organization.
“The illegitimate Maduro Regime is utilizing Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Homicide, and Kidnapping,” Trump wrote within the put up on Tuesday. “For the theft of our Belongings, and plenty of different causes, together with Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.”
