Trump imposes a blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers

Announce Yesterday, US President Donald Trump imposed a naval blockade on “sanctioned oil ships” departing from… Venezuela And the heading To her, in A new escalation of the pressure campaign launched against Caracas.

Trump wrote on his platform, “Truth Social» Days after US forces seized an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast, “Today, I issue an order to impose a complete and comprehensive blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.”

He added that the huge American naval fleet deployed in the Caribbean region “will increase in size” until Venezuela “returns to the United States of America all the oil, lands, and other assets that it previously stole from us.” The US President did not specify what type of oil or land he was referring to, but Venezuela nationalized its oil sector in the 1970s. And later, during the era of the former president For Maduro Hugo Chavezthe companies were forced to cede majority control to the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.

He continued Trump “The system Maduro Illegal uses of oil from these oil fields Stolen To finance same, And terrorism Drugs, And trafficking With humans, killing, and kidnapping.”

After weeks of military aircraft flying off the coast of Venezuela and deadly strikes on boats accused by Washington of drug smuggling, which resulted in the deaths of more than 90 In person, management has stepped up tamp She campaigned last week by seizing an oil tanker as it was leaving the country.

Venezuela, which has the largest oil reserves in the world, produces about one million barrels of oil per day, but since the year it has been facing… 2019 A ban that forces it to sell it on the black market at reduced prices, especially to China.

For months, the United States has been establishing a large military deployment in the Caribbean region, with the declared goal of combating drug trafficking in Latin America, with Venezuela in particular being targeted. Caracas considers the operation a pressure campaign to oust the leftist Nicolas Maduro Who Washington and many countries consider an illegitimate president.