Venezuela Slams US Oil Blockade as ’Irrational’ Theft

By Staff, Agencies

Venezuela has fiercely condemned US President Donald Trump’s declaration of a total blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers to and from the country, warning the move could further devastate its struggling economy.

Trump earlier announced that his administration officially designated Venezuela’s current government as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, citing allegations of terrorism, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and the theft of US assets.

"Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America" Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday, vowing the blockade would intensify unless Venezuela returned what he claimed was stolen "oil, land, and other assets.”

He continued that "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 also declared a “total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, escalating US pressure on the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

"The President of the United States intends to impose, in an utterly irrational manner, a supposed naval blockade on Venezuela with the aim of stealing the riches that belong to our homeland," the government of President Maduro said in an official statement Tuesday.

Caracas accused Washington of economic sabotage and called on the international community to oppose what it labeled a “modern-day piracy campaign” against a sovereign nation.

Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, alongside claims of fighting drugs and authoritarianism, are a key factor shaping the Trump administration’s policy toward Caracas, according to a New York Times opinion piece.

The article highlights outreach by US-backed opposition leader and Nobel laureate Maria Corina Machado, who addressed a Miami business conference by video attended by American executives and Trump.

Machado touted a “$1.7 trillion opportunity,” promising that a future Venezuela would open its energy and mineral sectors to foreign firms, and has repeatedly pitched this vision to US audiences, including Donald Trump Jr.

The article notes that although the Trump administration cites drug trafficking to pressure Maduro, Venezuela mainly serves as a transit route, while US officials are privately more concerned with its vast oil reserves.

The New York Times opinion highlights Trump’s interest in Venezuela’s energy, noting this was underscored by the recent US seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker, a move Trump said the US would keep, though it may face legal challenges.

The article calls the recent US seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker a major escalation in Trump’s campaign against Maduro, citing at least 25 attacks on boats that killed at least 95 people, which legal experts often deem illegal and extrajudicial.

Venezuela’s oil, holding about 17% of the world’s reserves—over 300 billion barrels—is central to Trump’s national security goals of energy dominance and Western Hemisphere control.