Trump Orders Complete Blockade of Venezuelan Oil Tankers Amid Military Buildup and Terror Designation

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he has ordered a complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, significantly escalating pressure on Nicolas Maduro's authoritarian regime.

This dramatic move follows last week's seizure of an oil tanker off Venezuela's coast by US forces and comes amid an unprecedented military buildup in the region. Trump's announcement appears designed to further constrict Venezuela's oil-dependent economy.

In his social media statement, Trump alleged Venezuela is using oil revenue to fund drug trafficking and other illegal activities. He vowed to continue the military buildup until Venezuela returns "Oil, Land, and other Assets" he claims were stolen from the United States, though the basis for these claims remains unclear.

"Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America," Trump declared on his social media platform. "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."

When questioned about Trump's statement, Pentagon officials directed all inquiries to the White House.

Venezuela's government press office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. However, prior to Trump's announcement, Maduro praised Venezuela for being "a strong country" in the face of US pressure.

"Venezuela has 25 weeks denouncing, confronting and defeating a campaign of multidimensional aggression, ranging from psychological terrorism to the piracy of the corsairs who assaulted the oil tanker," Maduro stated on state television Tuesday. "We have taken the oath to defend our homeland, and that on this soil peace and shared happiness triumph."

The US military buildup has been accompanied by a series of strikes on vessels in international waters in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. This campaign has drawn bipartisan scrutiny from US lawmakers and reportedly resulted in at least 95 deaths across 25 known strikes on vessels.

For weeks, Trump has indicated that the US would expand its campaign beyond maritime operations to include land-based strikes.

While the Trump administration has defended these operations as successful efforts to prevent drugs from reaching American shores, Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles appeared to confirm in a Vanity Fair interview published Tuesday that the campaign is actually aimed at ousting Maduro. Wiles stated that Trump "wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle."

Venezuela possesses the world's largest proven oil reserves and produces approximately 1 million barrels per day, with oil revenue being crucial to its economy. Since the Trump administration began imposing oil sanctions on Venezuela in 2017, Maduro's government has relied on a clandestine fleet of unflagged tankers to smuggle crude oil into global supply chains.

The state-owned oil company PDVSA has been excluded from global oil markets due to US sanctions and now primarily sells its exports at steep discounts through black market channels in China.

According to Francisco Monaldi, a Venezuelan oil expert at Rice University, about 850,000 barrels of Venezuela's 1 million daily production is exported. Approximately 80% goes to China, 15-17% reaches the US through Chevron Corp., and the remainder is sent to Cuba.

In October, Trump appeared to confirm reports that Maduro had offered stakes in Venezuela's oil and mineral wealth in recent months to alleviate mounting US pressure. "He's offered everything," Trump said at the time. "You know why? Because he doesn't want to f—- around with the United States."

It remains unclear exactly how the US plans to implement what Trump described as a "TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela."

Currently, the US Navy has 11 ships in the region, including an aircraft carrier and several amphibious assault ships equipped with helicopters and V-22 Ospreys. The Navy is also operating P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft in the area, providing significant capabilities for monitoring marine traffic to and from Venezuela.

Trump also claimed in his post that the "Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION," though the implications of this statement are ambiguous.

Historically, the foreign terrorist organization designation has been reserved for non-state actors without sovereign immunities granted by treaties or United Nations membership. Governments that US administrations seek to sanction for supporting terrorism are typically designated as "state sponsors of terrorism," a list that does not currently include Venezuela.

In November, the Trump administration designated the Cartel de los Soles—a term originally referring to Venezuelan military officers involved in drug trafficking rather than a formal cartel—as a foreign terrorist organization.

The Trump administration did create precedent for designating elements of foreign governments as FTOs during its first term when it classified the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, an arm of the Iranian government, as such an organization.