President Donald Trump declared Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s regime a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” on Tuesday and ordered a “total and complete blockade” of oil tankers entering or leaving the country.
In a Tuesday post on Truth Social, Trump announced that Venezuela is currently “completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America.” The president warned that the armada will “only get bigger” and will be an unprecedented shock to the South American nation until it returns to the United States “all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”
In his Truth Social Post, Trump described Maduro’s regime as “illegitimate” and suggested that the regime is using oil from “stolen Oil Fields” to finance human trafficking, kidnapping, murder, and drug terrorism.
“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,” Trump wrote. “Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.”
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“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,” Trump added. “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!”
Trump’s announcement on Tuesday of a blockade against oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela comes after his administration seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela last week that was believed to have been used to transport “sanctioned oil” from Venezuela and Iran. The blockade also comes as the U.S. military has deployed numerous naval assets to the Caribbean region in recent weeks.
In a statement obtained by Newsweek, the Venezuelan government responded to Trump’s Truth Social posts, saying, “[Trump] claims on his social media that Venezuela’s oil, land, and mineral wealth are his property. Consequently, Venezuela must immediately hand over all its riches. The U.S. president seeks to impose an irrational naval blockade on Venezuela in order to steal the wealth that belongs to our homeland.”
According to Newsweek, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry also sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council following the announcement of the blockade. The letter described the Trump administration’s actions as “an act of state piracy” and a “blatant theft of assets.”
