Trump Orders Blockade on All Sanctioned Venezuelan Oil Tankers

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced what he called “a total and complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.

The announcement follows weeks of military activity in the Caribbean and Pacific, where US forces have carried out more than 20 strikes on vessels they accused of drug trafficking. At least 95 people have been killed in those operations, according to U.S. Pentagon figures. Last week, US forces seized a tanker off Venezuela’s coast carrying an estimated two million barrels of crude, which Venezuela condemned as “blatant theft” and “an act of international piracy”.

In a social media post announcing the blockade, Trump claimed Venezuela was using oil revenues to fund drug trafficking and other crimes. He also said the U.S. military presence in the region would continue to grow. Details on how the blockade would be enforced were not provided, though thousands of U.S. troops and nearly a dozen warships, including an aircraft carrier, are deployed in nearby waters.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro continues to accuse the United States of trying to seize the country’s natural resources.