A total blockade of oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuelan waters has been imposed by the Trump administration, ratcheting up tensions that came to a head Tuesday evening, December 16. Ordering a “total and complete blockade,” President Donald Trump has escalated the South American situation in an effort to disrupt and destroy the flow of illegal drugs into the US. And yet, the political and economic ramifications go far beyond the drug cartels.
Venezuela Is What Now?
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”
Will Trump be challenged on this? Almost certainly. However, he labeled President Nicolas Maduro’s regime as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), meaning the US president’s latitude is far wider than with other nations. Traditionally, it is the State Department that applies such designations, but it seems highly likely that it will stick. Essentially, the international gloves are off.
Pressure Campaign
The oil blockade is just one part of a multi-pronged approach to dealing with the Maduro government. We have seen numerous drug boats blown out of the water, sabotaging the illicit trade that the Venezuelan president is accused of facilitating. Next is disrupting the entire economy by applying sanctioning measures on the nation’s rich reserves of black gold.
Currently, much of the oil is already sanctioned, and due to lax enforcement, a sizable portion ends up in China through black market deals. Trump, it seems, is just giving some bite to the whimpering bark of existing restrictions. It is one thing to have vast supplies of oil; it is quite another if one cannot sell it on the international markets.
Trump stressed that the blockade would only apply to the “dark fleets” that breach existing sanctions. In practice, that may be difficult to enforce, which is where early criticism is mounting.
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) was quick to strike back at Trump’s decision, stating, “A naval blockade is unquestionably an act of war. A war that the Congress never authorized and the American people do not want.” Castro is a long-standing critic of the president’s pressure campaign against Maduro and is sponsoring legislation that would force the administration to halt all hostilities. A vote on it is expected Thursday.
Final Goal
Trump’s ultimate aim is to have Maduro pack up his bags and not only leave office but hightail it out of Venezuela altogether. While such a call might lead to a more uncertain future for the belabored nation, in this one instance, that may not be the way things work out.
International observers at the last election say that Maduro’s opponent won in a landslide, making the man himself an illegitimate president. And there is a government in waiting headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado. This is not a resurgence of CIA shenanigans in South America, but something that most of the international community supports – the goal, anyway, if not the methods.
How long can Maduro last without illicit funds from his “dark fleet” oil reserves or support from the drug cartels that are being attacked by US forces at an increasing rate? That is the question he and his government, and indeed the people of his nation, will be asking themselves today.
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