The United States has taken a dramatic step in its ongoing standoff with Venezuela, one that puts oil—and the future of the Maduro regime—squarely at the centre of global attention.
President Donald Trump’s administration is intensifying its campaign against Venezuela’s state oil sector, seizing tankers and blockading vessels it says are linked to sanctioned crude exports—a move that could reshape both foreign policy and energy geopolitics.
It’s a rare instance where Washington’s push to punish Venezuela’s authoritarian leadership has gone beyond traditional sanctions and financial measures, instead directly targeting the country’s lifeblood: its oil industry.
Why oil? Why now?
For years, Venezuela’s oil exports have been central to its economy. The country sits on the world’s largest proven crude reserves, yet production has plunged amid mismanagement, corruption, sanctions and economic collapse over the past decade.
In recent weeks, the US has seized and intercepted multiple oil tankers in international waters near Venezuela, actions it describes as enforcement of existing sanctions against vessels tied to a so-called “shadow fleet” that moves sanctioned oil abroad. On December 10, US forces seized one vessel—the Skipper—and in the following weeks the US Coast Guard stopped others in the Caribbean.
President Trump has publicly celebrated the actions, saying those tankers were seized “for a very good reason” and even suggesting the United States may “keep” the oil onboard.
But critics call the moves a dangerous escalation of military and economic pressure that could destabilize the region and violate international norms—especially after the US announced a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuelan waters.
Venezuela’s counterpunch
Caracas has responded angrily. Venezuela’s National Assembly has passed a law criminalizing what it calls “acts of piracy” and blockades against its maritime commerce— with penalties up to 20 years in prison.
President Nicolás Maduro’s government and representatives at the United Nations condemned the US actions as “theft” and an abuse of international law, while allies such as China and Russia have urged restraint.
Maduro has even mobilized the Venezuelan navy to escort oil-related shipments bound for Asia, defying US pressure and demonstrating that Caracas isn’t backing down.
What’s at stake
Oil exports are arguably Venezuela’s largest source of revenue, and this latest round of US pressure targets that directly. With more than a dozen cargoes stranded offshore due to export disruptions, the country’s economy faces deeper turmoil even as officials scramble to store crude in floating tankers.
For the Trump administration, the strategy appears aimed at squeezing the Maduro government’s finances and forcing political change. But experts warn it could also deepen humanitarian hardship, inflate regional tensions, and draw Washington further into a confrontation with a nation that has so far resisted external pressure.
