The order came a week after the U.S. military seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
Published December 17, 2025
US President Donald Trump has ordered a “total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers traveling to and from Venezuela.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest armada in South American history,” President Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
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“Due to the theft of our nation’s assets and numerous other reasons, including terrorism, drug smuggling, and human trafficking, the Venezuelan regime has been designated a foreign terrorist organization,” President Trump said.
“Therefore, today I am ordering a complete and total blockade of all licensed oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela,” he said.
President Trump’s comments came a week after the U.S. military seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, and after Washington ordered a major buildup of U.S. forces off the coast of Venezuela in an operation targeting drug smuggling.
Since September, U.S. forces have attacked dozens of ships in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela, killing at least 90 people in what international law experts have criticized as extrajudicial killings.
The U.S. government has claimed the vessels are involved in drug trafficking, but has provided no evidence to support that claim.
Caracas has long maintained that the deployment of US troops to the region is aimed at allowing “external powers to seize Venezuela’s immense oil and gas wealth.”
Despite having the world’s largest proven oil reserves, Venezuela has faced severe restrictions on exports in recent years under U.S. sanctions first imposed under President Donald Trump.
This is breaking news. More details later.
