Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
President Donald Trump has called for a “complete and total blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers. Tension has increased in Venezuela With South American country.
The president’s latest announcement comes as part of the Trump administration Pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Trump has deployed hundreds of American troops ship off the coast of venezuela And U.S. forces seized an oil tanker off the country’s coast last week, an unusual move following the buildup of military forces in the region.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest armada ever in the history of South America. It’s going to get bigger, and the blow to them will be like they’ve never seen before — unless they return to the United States all of their oil, land, and other assets that they stole from us in the first place,” Trump said on Truth Social Tuesday evening.
It is unclear what oil, land and assets the White House believes Venezuela has stolen from the US.
Trump also accused Maduro of using oil to finance “drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping.”
The President continued, “Therefore, today, I am ordering the complete shutdown of all sanctioned oil tankers going in and out of Venezuela.” “Illegal aliens and criminals who were deported to the United States by the Maduro regime during the weak and incompetent Biden administration are being deported back to Venezuela at a rapid pace.”
Tensions have risen with a series of military attacks on boats in international waters in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
The campaign, which has drawn bipartisan scrutiny among US lawmakers, has killed at least 95 people in 25 known attacks on ships.
The Trump administration has defended it as a success, saying it has prevented drugs from reaching US shores, and he has rejected concerns that it is overstepping the bounds of legitimate war.
The administration has said the operation is about stopping drugs headed to the United States, but Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wills, has confirmed this. Vanity Fair The interview, published Tuesday, said the campaign was part of an effort to remove Maduro.
Wills said Trump wants to “keep blowing up boats until Uncle Maduro screams.”
Last week, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against three nephews of Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, and a business executive close to Maduro. The department also added six oil tankers. List of approved ships, pointing fingers The ships “engaged in deceptive and unsafe shipping practices and continue to provide financial resources that fuel Maduro’s corrupt narco-terrorist regime.”
According to experts, the South American country relies heavily on oil exports to fuel its economy, so seizing oil tankers could devastate Venezuela’s already fragile economy. According to the , oil accounts for about 88 percent of Venezuela’s $24 billion export revenue. new York Times.
Elsewhere, the administration has been scrutinized for the US military. An attack on an alleged drug-carrying boat that left two survivors dead.
When two survivors emerged from the debris of the first attack on 2 September, the commander overseeing the operation ordered the officers to fire again. That order was reportedly in response to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Alleged instructions to “kill everyone” on shipsaccording to Washington PostCiting officials with direct knowledge of the operation.
News of Hegseth’s alleged order has intensified Intensive legal and political investigation into the Trump administration’s deadly campaign And the allegations that these attacks amount to illegal extrajudicial killings are what law of war experts are talking about Independent In recent months there have been outright killings and war crimes.
The Associated Press contributed reporting