Trump orders “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers in Venezuela

President Trump on Tuesday called for a “total and complete blockade” on all sanctioned oil tankers that enter or depart Venezuela, as the administration heaps pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at sea and leaves the door open for possible land strikes.

“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” the president 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.”

CBS News has reached out to the White House for comment. The Pentagon referred CBS News to the White House. 

Last week, the U.S. military seized a sanctioned 20-year-old oil tanker that had just left port in Venezuela, sources told CBS News. Armed personnel approached in helicopters and boarded the vessel, which was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury three years ago for its alleged role in an oil smuggling network that helped fund the Iranian military and its proxies in the region. 

Mr. Trump’s Tuesday night announcement suggests that further seizures are possible. It’s not clear how many vessels are covered by the planned blockade.

The Maduro government called last week’s boat seizure “robbery” and “piracy.” In a statement late Tuesday, Venezuela called the blockade a “grotesque threat” and a violation of international law, and accused the Trump administration of seeking to “appropriate the oil, land and minerals of the country through gigantic campaigns of lies and manipulations.”  

White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett believes any future boat seizures are unlikely to lead to increases in global oil prices, he told CBS News’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” over the weekend. He didn’t specify whether a total blockade was on the table, but said the administration is trying to crack down on a “black market for oil.”

Venezuela is a major oil producer with some of the world’s largest petroleum reserves. But its oil industry has been heavily sanctioned by the U.S. for years, with the Biden and Trump administrations citing human rights concerns and widespread allegations of fraud in Venezuela’s last two elections. 

Heavily sanctioned oil producers like Venezuela, Russia and Iran have sought to export their oil despite the U.S. restrictions, in some cases allegedly turning to a global “shadow fleet” of older oil tankers with questionable registrations — a move that has vexed federal authorities. 

Since Mr. Trump returned to office in January, he has ramped up economic pressure on Maduro, whom the Trump administration has accused of colluding with drug cartels. The Venezuelan government has denied those allegations.

Last week, the administration sanctioned six ships accused of carrying oil from Venezuela, along with three nephews of Maduro, two of whom were accused of narcotics trafficking and one of whom worked for the country’s state oil company.

Late Tuesday, Mr. Trump alleged in a social media post that the Maduro regime was using oil exports to “finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping.”

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has taken steps to designate the Cartel de los Soles — a loosely organized group it says is led by Maduro — as a foreign terrorist organization. And Maduro himself faces a $50 million reward for his capture, after he was charged with narco-trafficking in U.S. federal court in 2020.

Venezuela has also faced pressure from the U.S. military, which has moved naval vessels and fighter jets into the Caribbean and conducted strikes against at least 25 boats it claims were trafficking drugs from Latin America.

And Mr. Trump has repeatedly suggested he may order strikes on land-based drug targets in Venezuela and other countries, which would mark a significant escalation. 

Maduro’s government has decried the military buildup, accused the Trump administration of seeking regime change, and vowed to defend itself against any military operations.

The U.S. president has not said explicitly whether he’s seeking Maduro’s ouster, but he told Politico last week the Venezuelan leader’s “days are numbered.”