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.
The United States is pursuing an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a day after the Coast Guard seized another tanker in the same area, according to multiple reports, amid a rapid buildup of U.S. forces in the region.
If captured, it would be the third U.S. tanker intercept in less than two weeks. Officials told Reuters on December 21 that the tanker was under sanctions and had not been boarded so far. Officials did not provide the exact location of the operation or the name of the vessel being tracked, Reuters reported. Bloomberg first reported on the operation.
The pursuit of the tanker comes less than a week after President Donald Trump ordered a “blockade” of all sanctioned vessels to and from Venezuela, further straining the oil-rich country’s economy. President Trump announced the move in a Dec. 16 post on Truth Social, where he also said he had officially designated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his government allies as foreign terrorist organizations.
Trump has accused Maduro of being a drug trafficker and shipping fentanyl, which has contributed to the U.S. opioid crisis, and blamed Maduro for the wave of immigration to the U.S. in recent years.
President Maduro has claimed that the U.S. military buildup is aimed at overthrowing him and seizing control of his country, which has the world’s largest oil reserves. The country relies heavily on crude oil exports, especially to China, its largest trading partner.
The United States carried out its first seizure of an oil tanker on December 10 amid recent friction. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the crude oil tanker was used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. On December 20, the United States seized a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker.
Only the first ship was on the U.S. sanctions list.
White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CBS News on December 21 that both oil tankers were operating on the black market.
Many ships that load oil in Venezuela are subject to sanctions, but others are not. Some companies, particularly the US oil company Chevron, transport Venezuelan oil on their own licensed vessels.
Since the United States imposed energy sanctions on Venezuela in 2019, traders and refiners buying Venezuelan crude have relied on a “shadow fleet” of tankers whose locations are disguised.
Contributor: Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY.
Kathryn Palmer is USA TODAY’s political reporter. She can be reached at the following address: kapalmer@usatoday.com And to X@Kathryn Purml. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.
