Trump turns up heat on Venezuela with ‘total and complete blockade’ of oil tankers

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Dec 16) dramatically escalated his pressure campaign against Venezuela, announcing what he called a "total and complete blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving the country. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the United States would move to intercept vessels linked to Venezuela's oil trade, arguing that the revenue was being used to prop up President Nicolás Maduro’s government. This comes as Caracas lodged a formal complaint with the United Nations Security Council over the tanker seized by the US recently. Calling it an act of "state-sponsored piracy".

Trump slams 'illegitimate Maduro regime'

In his Truth Social post, Trump said, "Today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Tuesday evening. Calling the Venezuelan government "illegitimate Maduro regime," he alleged that it was "using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping".

The announcement marks a sharp expansion of Washington’s pressure campaign against Caracas. For months, the US has been steadily increasing its military presence in the Caribbean, officially framing the deployment as a counter-narcotics operation. That buildup now includes the world's largest aircraft carrier and a growing number of warships and surveillance aircraft operating close to Venezuelan waters.

In recent weeks, US forces have carried out strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the region, operations that have killed nearly 90 people. Last week, American forces also seized a large oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, claiming it was transporting black-market oil in violation of US sanctions. Washington later announced fresh sanctions on additional vessels tied to the trade.

US action against Venezuela to "only get bigger"

Trump also warned that the naval presence would "only get bigger" until Venezuela returned "to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us." While the US already enforces sweeping sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector, a full blockade of oil exports could further cripple the country’s fragile economy.

Venezuela urges UN to condemn US

Maduro in a letter sent to Slovenia's UN ambassador, whose country currently holds the rotating Security Council presidency, accused Washington of illegally using military force against a private vessel and stealing a cargo involved in lawful international trade.

The Maduro government also demanded the release of what it described as the tanker’s "kidnapped" crew.