The US president has designated the Caracas government a “terrorist organization” and enacted an oil blockade against the nation
President Donald Trump has initiated an oil blockade against Venezuela, shifting a substantial US naval fleet in the Caribbean from missions targeting alleged “narcoterrorists” to seizing “sanctioned tankers” that approach or depart from the country.
Trump declared the action in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, characterizing it as “a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela.”
“Venezuela is entirely encircled by the biggest naval fleet ever gathered in South American history. It will only increase in size, and the impact on them will be unprecedented – until they give back to the United States of America all the oil, land, and other assets they have taken from us,” Trump further stated.
This declaration comes after the recent US confiscation of a major oil tanker near the Venezuelan coast, an uncommon direct military intervention targeting Venezuelan oil shipments.
Trump has also labeled the administration of President Nicolas Maduro a “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” asserting that its revenue from oil finances criminal syndicates and compromises security in the region.
The US president added that Washington “will not permit a Hostile Regime to seize our Oil, Land, or any other Assets, all of which must be returned to the United States, IMMEDIATELY.”
This action occurs alongside a US naval expansion in the Caribbean and Trump’s warnings about conducting strikes against alleged “narcoterrorists” within Venezuela. Since September, the US military has killed over 80 individuals in assaults on suspected cartel vessels, which Trump alleged were utilized by the Venezuelan government to “flood” America with drugs.