The president made the announcement at the Truth Social on Tuesday night. In the post, Trump also writes that the US Navy’s presence off the coast of Venezuela is to be strengthened.
– Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America. It will get even bigger, writes the president.
Trump writes that the US has been robbed of oil, property and other valuables, and that he has now ordered a full blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers sailing to and from Venezuela.
Oil
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– The illegal Maduro regime uses oil from stolen oil fields to finance itself, narco-terrorism, human trafficking, murder and abductions. For the theft of our funds, and for many other reasons, including terrorism, drug trafficking and human trafficking, the Venezuelan regime has been classified as a foreign terrorist organization, Trump writes.
– That is why I am today ordering a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers sailing to and from Venezuela, writes the US president.
– The illegal immigrants and criminals that the Maduro regime has sent to the United States under the weak and foolish Biden administration are being sent back to Venezuela at a rapid pace. The United States will not allow criminals, terrorists or other countries to rob, threaten or harm our country, writes Trump.
Strained relationship
Relations between the United States and Venezuela have become very strained in recent months. The Trump administration has carried out a series of attacks against boats that, according to Washington, are carrying drugs on their way from Venezuela to the United States.
The United States accuses Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading what Washington itself calls the “Sol Cartel“, and has promised a reward of 50 million dollars for information that could lead to the arrest of Maduro.
Maduro has rejected the accusations, and several experts believe that what Washington calls the “Sol cartel” is in reality a reference to corruption and contacts between criminal gangs and high-ranking officials in Venezuela. Experts also believe that US boat attacks may be in violation of international law.
This autumn, the US sent warships to the southern part of the Caribbean, and Trump has made it clear that he will try to pressure Maduro to step down.
Trump spoke with Maduro
On November 21, Trump and Maduro had a telephone conversation. It was confirmed by Trump on November 30. The US president did not want to go into detail about the content of the conversation.
– I don’t want to say that it went well or badly. It was a phone call, Trump said when commenting on it to reporters.
On 3 December, Maduro commented on the conversation for the first time, calling it “respectful and pleasant”.
– I spoke with US President Donald Trump. I can say that the conversation was respectful and I can even say that it was pleasant, Maduro told state television in Venezuela.
Maduro also said measures have been taken to promote what he calls respectful dialogue between the two countries.
– If this conversation means that something is done in favor of a respectful dialogue, state to state, country to country, then we welcome such dialogue, we welcome diplomacy, because we will always seek peace, said Maduro.
Seized
On 10 December, the same day that the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in Oslo to Venezuelan opposition politician Maria Corina Machado, Trump announced that the US Coast Guard had intercepted and seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
“We have just seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large – in fact the largest ever seized,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
– And other things happen, you’ll see that later, he continued, without giving any more details, other than to say that there was “a very good reason” for the ship to be seized.
American media wrote that the oil tanker was on its way to Cuba – with which the US also has a strained relationship – when the vessel was stopped by the US coast guard.
The escalation could make it challenging for Venezuela to export oil as China and other trading partners may become more reluctant to load oil onto ships in the area.
