The US president has branded the government in Caracas a \u201cterrorist organization\u201d and imposed an oil blockade on the country<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump has imposed an oil blockade on Venezuela, redirecting a large American naval armada in the Caribbean from operations against alleged \u201cnarcoterrorists\u201d to intercepting \u201csanctioned tankers\u201d entering and leaving the country.
\nTrump announced the move in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, describing it as \u201ca total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela.\u201d
\n\u201cVenezuela is completely surrounded by the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before \u2013 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,\u201d Trump added.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
US military plane nearly collides with passenger jet near Venezuela \u2013 media<\/p>\n
The announcement follows the recent US seizure of a large oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast, a rare direct military action against Venezuelan oil exports.
\nTrump has also branded the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro\u00a0a \u201cForeign Terrorist Organization,\u201d claiming that its oil profits fuel criminal networks and undermine regional security.
\nWashington \u201cwill not allow a Hostile Regime to take our Oil, Land, or any other Assets, all of which must be returned to the United States, IMMEDIATELY,\u201d\u00a0the US president added.\u00a0
\nThe move comes amid a US naval buildup in the Caribbean and Trump\u2019s threats to carry out strikes against alleged \u201cnarcoterrorists\u201d on Venezuelan soil. Since September, the US military has killed more than 80 people in attacks on alleged cartel boats, which Trump claimed were being used by the Venezuelan government to \u201cflood\u201d America with narcotics.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Venezuela responds to Trump\u2019s oil blockade<\/p>\n
Venezuela has denied any involvement in drug trafficking and said the strikes were part of a \u201ccolonialist\u201d plan to topple Maduro and plunder the country\u2019s natural resources. Caracas also accused the US of \u201cstate piracy\u201d and has vowed to defend its territory and natural wealth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The US president has branded the government in Caracas a \u201cterrorist organization\u201d and imposed an oil blockade on the country US President Donald Trump has imposed an oil blockade on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t