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.
