What is the story about?
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a sharp escalation in Washington’s actions against Venezuela, declaring that his administration would designate President Nicolás Maduro’s regime as a foreign terrorist organisation while ordering a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers moving in and out of the country.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he was directing a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela,” signalling an intensification of his campaign against the South American nation. He added that his administration was taking steps to label Maduro’s government a foreign terrorist organisation for the “theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking,” Trump wrote.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Trump posted. “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.”
“The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping,” Trump added.
The announcement follows the seizure of an oil tanker by the US off the Venezuelan coast last week. The administration said the vessel was transporting “sanctioned oil” from Venezuela and Iran, and Trump has stated that the US intends to keep the oil that was on board. In recent weeks, the administration has also imposed sanctions on members of the Maduro family and on Venezuelan businesses.
Alongside the economic measures, the Trump administration has continued to build up a military presence in the region, prompting questions about whether the president intends to pursue a military conflict with Venezuela. The Pentagon has deployed the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, along with its carrier air wing, to the Caribbean. In October, two B-1 Lancer bombers departed from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and flew near Venezuela’s coast, according to flight tracking data.
For months, the administration has also conducted military strikes against alleged drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean. Those operations, and the dozens of deaths they have caused, have drawn scrutiny from Congress. Trump has repeatedly threatened land strikes inside Venezuela but has not carried them out.
While officials have said the campaign is aimed at stopping drug flows, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair in an interview published Tuesday that the president’s approach is to “keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle. And people way smarter than me say that he will.”
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he was directing a “total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela,” signalling an intensification of his campaign against the South American nation. He added that his administration was taking steps to label Maduro’s government a foreign terrorist organisation for the “theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking,” Trump wrote.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Trump posted. “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.”
“The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping,” Trump added.
Recent enforcement actions and sanctions
The announcement follows the seizure of an oil tanker by the US off the Venezuelan coast last week. The administration said the vessel was transporting “sanctioned oil” from Venezuela and Iran, and Trump has stated that the US intends to keep the oil that was on board. In recent weeks, the administration has also imposed sanctions on members of the Maduro family and on Venezuelan businesses.
Alongside the economic measures, the Trump administration has continued to build up a military presence in the region, prompting questions about whether the president intends to pursue a military conflict with Venezuela. The Pentagon has deployed the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, along with its carrier air wing, to the Caribbean. In October, two B-1 Lancer bombers departed from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and flew near Venezuela’s coast, according to flight tracking data.
For months, the administration has also conducted military strikes against alleged drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean. Those operations, and the dozens of deaths they have caused, have drawn scrutiny from Congress. Trump has repeatedly threatened land strikes inside Venezuela but has not carried them out.
While officials have said the campaign is aimed at stopping drug flows, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair in an interview published Tuesday that the president’s approach is to “keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle. And people way smarter than me say that he will.”
