Trump announces full blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers under sanctions
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela's ports. He announced this on Truth Social.
According to Trump, the regime of Nicolas Maduro uses oil from fields that the United States considers stolen to finance drug trafficking, terrorism, human trafficking, kidnappings and murder. He emphasised that it is for these reasons that the Venezuelan government is recognised as a foreign terrorist organisation.
Trump also said that Venezuela is surrounded by an unprecedented naval armada in South America and that this pressure will only increase until Caracas returns oil, land and other assets to the US. According to him, the blockade will apply to all tankers transporting sanctioned Venezuelan oil, including through third countries.
Earlier, the US military has already taken control of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. In response, the country's authorities accused the US of violating international law and the principles of free navigation and announced their intention to raise the issue at the UN level.
