President Trump labels Venezuela a terrorist group and orders oil blockade
President Donald Trump designated Venezuela a foreign terrorist organization and blocked the access of sanctioned oil tankers.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has ordered a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers to and from Venezuela, increasing tensions between the United States and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
President Trump announced the move in a Dec. 16 post on Truth Social, also announcing that he had officially designated President Maduro and his government allies as foreign terrorist organizations.
The move comes less than a week after the United States seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela that the Trump administration said was transporting sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest armada in South American history,” President Trump said in a social media post. “It will be even bigger and the impact for them will be unlike anything they have ever seen before, until they return to the United States all the oil, land and other assets they previously stole from us.”
The Trump administration has moved thousands of troops and nearly a dozen warships, including an aircraft carrier, into the region in recent months. President Trump also warned that the United States would soon launch a ground attack on Venezuela.
President Trump accused Maduro and other Venezuelans of using oil from “stolen oil fields” to finance drug smuggling, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping.
“Therefore, today I am ordering a complete and complete blockade of all licensed oil tankers entering and exiting Venezuela,” Trump said in the post, later adding, “We will not allow a hostile regime to seize our oil, land, or other assets, all of which must be immediately returned to the United States.”
The U.S. military has launched at least 25 attacks against boats in the Caribbean that the Trump administration said were bringing drugs into the United States, killing at least 95 people, including some Venezuelans. Democrats say the attack, which was not authorized by Congress, is illegal and constitutes an extrajudicial assassination.
President Trump and his officials have said Mr. Maduro is the leader of a criminal organization called Cartel de los Soles. Experts say the Cartel de los Soles is a loose corruption network and not a genuine drug-trafficking organization.
Maduro and other Venezuelan government officials were indicted in 2020 on drug trafficking and corruption charges.
The United States has imposed sanctions on Venezuela for 20 years. Late last month, the Trump administration declared the Cartel de los Soles a foreign terrorist organization, paving the way for tough sanctions against the cartel and any entities it does business with.
In July, the Trump administration reversed a February move to cut off U.S. oil giant Chevron’s operations in Venezuela.
Contributor: Reuters; Cybele Mays Osterman of USA TODAY
X Contact Joey Garrison at @joeygarrison.
