Trump orders a “total and complete blockade” of oil tankers allowed in Venezuela
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President Trump on Tuesday called for a “total and complete embargo” on all oil tankers allowed to enter or leave Venezuela, as the administration pressured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro into the sea and left the door open to possible international strikes.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the history of South America,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “It will be greater, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before – Until the time they return to the United States of America all the Oil, Land, and other Goods they previously stole.”
CBS News has reached out to the White House for comment. The Pentagon relayed CBS News to the White House.
Last week, the US military they seized a 20-year-old oil tanker which had just left port in Venezuela, sources told CBS News. Armed crews approached by helicopter and boarded the ship, which was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department three years ago for its alleged role in an oil smuggling scheme that helps support Iran’s military and its proxies in the region.
Maduro’s government called the kidnapping a “robbery” and “criminality”.
The announcement of Mr. Trump on Tuesday night suggests that other things be held.
White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett believes that any future seizure of boats is unlikely to lead to an increase in world oil prices, he told CBS News’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” at the weekend. He did not specify whether a total ban was on the table, but said the administration was trying to crack down on the “black market for oil.”
Venezuela is a major oil producer and has the largest oil reserves in the world. But its oil industry has been heavily favored by the US for years, with the Biden and Trump administrations citing human rights concerns and allegations of fraud in Venezuela’s last two elections.
Major oil producers such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran they have wanted to export their oil to other countries despite US restrictions, in some cases it is said to turn to global “shadow fleet” of old oil tankers with dubious registrations – a move that has angered government authorities.
Since Mr. After Trump returned to office in January, he has increased economic pressure on Maduro, whom the Trump administration accuses of working with drug cartels. The Venezuelan government denies the allegations.
Last week, management approved six vessels suspected of carrying oil from Venezuela, and three of Maduro’s nephews, two of whom are suspected of drug trafficking and one of whom works for the country’s oil company.
Last Tuesday, Mr. Trump alleged in a social media post that Maduro’s regime uses oil to “fund itself, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder and Kidnapping.”
At that time, the Trump administration for him take steps to appoint the Cartel de los Soles – an organized group allegedly led by Maduro – as a foreign terrorist organization. And Maduro himself faces a $50 million reward for his capture, after that drug trafficking cases in US federal court in 2020.
Venezuela has also faced pressure from the US military, which has moved naval ships and warplanes to the Caribbean and carried out strikes. against at least 25 boats says it was smuggling drugs from Latin America.
And Mr. Trump did so has been repeatedly suggested he may order strikes on country-based drug cartels in Venezuela and other countries, which could mark a major escalation.
Maduro’s government has criticized the military buildup, accused the Trump administration of seeking regime change, and vowed to defend itself against any military action.
The US president has not publicly said he wants Maduro ousted, but told Politico last week that the Venezuelan leader’s “days are numbered”.
