President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced what he described as a “blockade” of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers, escalating U.S. pressure on the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
In a lengthy post on social media, Trump claimed that Venezuela is now encircled by an unprecedented U.S. naval presence in the region.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America,” Trump wrote. “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 all of the oil, land and other assets that they previously stole from us.”
Trump did not specify which assets he was referring to. Under former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the government nationalized parts of the country’s oil industry, expropriating assets held by several foreign companies, including U.S. firms.
In his post, Trump declared what he called “a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela,” demanding the return of oil and other assets.
The Venezuelan government swiftly condemned the announcement, calling it a “reckless and serious threat” that violates international law, free trade principles and freedom of navigation.
“The president of the United States intends to impose, in an absolutely irrational manner, a supposed naval military blockade on Venezuela with the objective of stealing the wealth that belongs to our homeland,” the government said in a statement.
The United States currently has 11 warships deployed in the Caribbean, the largest U.S. naval presence in the region in decades. However, military analysts note that even with increased deployments, such a force would likely be insufficient to carry out a traditional blockade, which would require fully sealing Venezuela’s coastline.
The announcement adds to mounting tensions between Washington and Caracas amid broader U.S. efforts to isolate the Maduro government through sanctions and military pressure.
