Trump orders blockade of ‘sanctioned oil tankers’ into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on Maduro

President Trump has ordered a naval blockade of “sanctioned oil tankers” into Venezuela, significantly escalating U.S. pressure on President Nicolás Maduro’s government. The announcement comes just days after U.S. forces seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast amid a growing military buildup in the region.

In a Tuesday night social media post, Trump declared that “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America.” He threatened to expand the military presence until Venezuela returns “all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us,” though he did not clarify the basis for these U.S. claims.

The Venezuelan government swiftly condemned Trump’s declaration as “a reckless and grave threat” that violates international law, free trade principles, and freedom of navigation. In a statement, Maduro’s administration accused Trump of irrationally assuming Venezuela’s natural resources are his property and announced plans to bring the matter before the United Nations.

This blockade represents the latest escalation in a broader maritime campaign that has already resulted in U.S. military strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. These operations have killed at least 95 people in 25 known strikes, drawing bipartisan scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers concerned about the legal justification for such actions.

While the Trump administration has publicly framed these operations as targeting drug trafficking, Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles revealed a different objective in a Vanity Fair interview published Tuesday, saying Trump “wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.” This statement aligns with the administration’s long-standing goal of removing Maduro from power.

The economic implications of the blockade could be severe for Venezuela, which possesses the world’s largest proven oil reserves and produces approximately 1 million barrels daily. Oil revenue has traditionally been the lifeblood of the Venezuelan economy, already struggling under years of sanctions.

According to Francisco Monaldi, a Venezuelan oil expert at Rice University, about 850,000 barrels of Venezuela’s daily production is exported, with 80% going to China, 15-17% to the U.S. through Chevron Corp., and the remainder to Cuba. Since 2017, when the U.S. began imposing oil sanctions, Maduro’s government has relied heavily on unflagged tankers to smuggle crude into global supply chains.

The Pentagon has referred all questions about Trump’s announcement to the White House, and it remains unclear exactly how the U.S. plans to implement what Trump described as a “TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE.” However, the U.S. Navy currently has 11 ships in the region, including an aircraft carrier and several amphibious assault vessels equipped with helicopters, V-22 Ospreys, and P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft—providing substantial capacity to monitor maritime traffic.

Trump also claimed that the “Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” though this designation has traditionally been reserved for non-state actors rather than sovereign governments. In November, the administration did designate the Cartel de los Soles—a term referring to Venezuelan military officers involved in drug trafficking—as a foreign terrorist organization, but Venezuela itself is not on the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list.

This naval blockade represents a dramatic intensification in U.S. policy toward Venezuela and could further complicate the already tense relationship between the two nations while potentially triggering broader regional and international responses.