United States President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post made on 16 December 2025, stated that he is ordering a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and coming out of Venezuela.
Note that U.S. military assets have been stationed in areas surrounding Venezuela.
He also said that the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been designated as a foreign terrorist and accused it of stealing U.S. assets. These purported assets include fossil fuels, land territories, and minerals.
The remarks came a week after the U.S. seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
Venezuela, which owns one of the largest proven oil reserves in the world, responded in an official statement and has accused the second Trump administration of seeking to steal its oil and other critical resources.
The same statement also accuses Trump of violating free trade and free navigation.
Venezuelan oil exports have a global reach. Cuba and India are large buyers. But China remains the largest importer. Most of the Venezuelan oil is usually shipped to China uninsured tankers that evade detection.
The naval blockade will cripple Venezuelan oil trade and distress its economy.
Both the second Trump administration and the former administration of Joe Biden have opposed the Maduro government and have tried to remove the Venezuelan president through stringent economic sanctions and policies.
A series of military strikes on boats from the U.S. has killed at least 25 people in 2025.
The armed actions of Trump have drawn partisan scrutiny in the U.S. Congress. The administration defended the strikes as successful in preventing drugs from reaching the U.S. and pushed back on concerns that it was inciting war.
Observers have noted that the actions of Trump are intended to unseat Maduro.
However, in The Washington Post report, while the Venezuelan president has been described as already feeling the pressure, he still refuses to go into exile. Maduro is planning to wait out Trump and his threat of an imminent attack.
FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES
- Herrero, A. V., George, S., Schmidt, S., Dias, M., and Natanson, H. 8 December 2025. “Venezuela’s Maduro, Shaken But Still Standing, Aims to Wait out Trump.” The Washington Post. Available online
- The Associated Press. 16 December 2025. “US Military Says Strikes on 3 Boats in the Eastern Pacific Ocean Kill 8 People.” The Associated Press. Available online