President Donald Trump ordered a “total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela — increasing pressure on the socialist Maduro regime.
President Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post, announcing that the Venezuelan regime has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Trump detailed that Venezuela is “completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” adding to the closing off of airspace as previously announced.
“It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us. The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping,” President Trump wrote.
He continued:
For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela. The Illegal Aliens and Criminals that the Maduro Regime has sent into the United States during the weak and inept Biden Administration, are being returned to Venezuela at a rapid pace. America will not allow Criminals, Terrorists, or other Countries, to rob, threaten, or harm our Nation and, likewise, will not allow a Hostile Regime to take our Oil, Land, or any other Assets, all of which must be returned to the United States, IMMEDIATELY. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
The Maduro regime responded through an official statement condemning Trump and accusing him of seeking to impose an “irrational naval blockade on Venezuela in order to steal the wealth that belongs to our homeland.”
The regime said that its ambassador to the U.N. will denounce the blockade and called upon people from the U.S. and the world to “reject this extravagant threat by any means necessary.”
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President Trump’s announcement marks the latest escalation in tensions between the United States and the Venezuelan regime led by socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro, and comes days after the U.S. military seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Maduro fiercely condemned the seizure of the tanker and said that the incident was “like Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Moments before President Trump’s announcement, Maduro, during a regime event, called upon a “grand protest of international oil workers” against the “theft” of the seized oil tanker.
“The oil working class, through the international constituent commission, must proceed to defend the right to free trade of Venezuela’s main export product, oil, in all international forums, multilateral organizations, and trade unions, and speak with shipowners in all ports around the world to prepare a major protest by oil workers, gas workers, and merchant marine workers against the piracy of the United States government, which seeks to impose a letter of marque on the world,” Maduro said.
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