Trump orders 'total and complete' blockade of all oil tankers bound for Venezuela while warning Maduro with 'largest Armada ever assembled'
Donald Trump has declared the Venezuelan regime a foreign terrorist organization and ordered 'a total and complete blockade' of sanctioned oil tankers headed to and from the country.
The president's drone strike campaign against drug boats in the region has killed 95 people to date but Trump is now going a step further in his campaign against dictator Nicolas Maduro, whom he previously told to flee the country.
'Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,' he said.
Trump said that Maduro - whom he once again called 'illegitimate' - must give the United States the oil, land and other assets stolen by Venezuela.
He accused him of using stolen oil to finance narco-terrorism, human trafficking, murder, kidnapping and self-enrichment.
'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,' he said.
'Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela. 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.'
In a sharp escalation last week, US forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration has accused of smuggling illicit crude.
Donald Trump has declared Venezuelan leadership a foreign terrorist organization and ordered 'a total and complete blockade' of sanctioned oil tankers headed to and from the country
The president's drone strike campaign against drug boats in the region has killed 95 people to date but Trump is now going a step further in his campaign against dictator Nicolas Maduro (pictured)
Trump demanded Maduro's 'hostile regime' return American assets 'IMMEDIATELY.'
Trump has accompanied the strikes with a massive military buildup in the Caribbean that includes the world's largest aircraft carrier and a slew of other warships, while a string of US military aircraft have flown along Venezuela's coast in recent weeks.
While Trump and his administration say the target of the military buildup is drug-trafficking, Venezuela's leftist leader Nicolas Maduro accuses Washington of using narcotics smuggling as a pretext for regime change in Caracas.
The United States has sought to link the two issues, accusing Maduro of leading the alleged 'Cartel of the Suns,' which it declared a 'narco-terrorist' organization last month, and offering a $50 million reward for information leading to his capture.
The US military has built up its largest presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
The Trump administration has said the campaign is about stopping drugs headed to the US, but Trump's chief of staff Susie Wiles appeared to confirm in a Vanity Fair interview published Tuesday that the campaign is part of a push to oust Maduro.
Wiles said Trump 'wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.'
On Monday, the president signed an executive order that placed fentanyl in the same category as nuclear and chemical weapons, signifying how serious he is about stopping the flow of drugs into America.
Footage of a deadly military strike conducted by the US military on September 2
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (pictured left) and Trump (pictured right) have staunchly defended the strikes
Trump says land attacks are coming soon but has not offered any details on location.
Meanwhile, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is continuing to face a barrage of questions for approving strikes on Venezuelan drug ships - especially regarding a now-infamous second strike on the first attack in September that killed two survivors.
The controversy stems from a strike against a vessel in the Caribbean Sea that the Trump administration claimed was carrying cocaine en route to the US.
A US missile disabled the speedboat and killed most on board, but two survivors were observed clinging to the wreckage and were thought to be attempting to radio for help.
Pentagon officials have justified the administration's action by arguing the decision to authorize the second strike on September 2 was based on a perceived ongoing threat.
Lawmakers are now demanding to get unedited video from the strikes, but Hegseth has told congressional leaders he was still weighing whether to release it.
He instead provided a classified briefing for congressional leaders alongside Rubio and other top national security officials.
The same day, Admiral Alvin Holsey, who will be retiring from US Southern Command in this week, spoke separately with the Republican chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
In late November, Trump warned Maduro to flee alongside his wife or face the consequences as the US loads up on warships and troops in the region.
The president even assured Maduro of safe passage for himself, his wife and son if he resigned immediately, The Miami Herald reported.
A source familiar with the call said that Maduro asked Trump for global amnesty, which the president rejected, before asking to keep his control of the Venezuelan armed forces in exchange for free elections.
Trump also said no to that idea before Maduro rejected the idea of resigning.
The president confirmed that the talks had occurred amid soaring tensions between the two countries, while Caracas slammed what it called US preparations for an attack.
Maduro, who has been in power since 2013, has followed in his predecessor, Hugo Chávez's footsteps, by cultivating strong military loyalty by appointing officers to high-ranking government roles.
The US has condemned Maduro's corrupt rule, citing the president's election victory in 2024, despite evidence that his opposition won more votes.
The new wave of deployments began in August with the arrival of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group. In October, the US announced that the 1106ft USS Gerald R Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the world, would also join the mission.
The carrier reached Caribbean waters on November 11 with more than four thousand sailors, fighter jets and support vessels, including the USS Thomas Hudner, USS Rampage, and USS Normandy.
The Pentagon is calling the presence 'Operation Southern Spear,' with over 15,000 troops and 11 US warships estimated in the area.
Meanwhile, in Venezuela, Maduro has said eight million civilians are training in militias.
However, the military's equipment is decades old, most of which was purchased from Russia in the early 2000s.
