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US President Donald Trump has ordered a blockade of all ‘sanctioned oil tankers’ into Venezuela as tensions with the South American country reach a breaking point.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump’s escalation got here after US forces seized an oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast last week.
There have been rumblings of a possible conflict for months now as Operation Southern Spear attempts to stop the flow of medicine into America.
Trump has claimed Venezuela is using oil to fund drug trafficking and other crimes and vowed to proceed the military build-up until the country gave the US oil, land and assets, though it was not clear why he felt the US had a claim to the country’s assets.
‘Venezuela is totally surrounded by the most important Armada ever assembled within the History of South America,’ Trump said on Truth Social.
‘It’ll only get larger, and the shock to them might be like nothing they’ve ever seen before – Until such time as they return to the US of America the entire Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.’
Venezuela’s government released a press release accusing Mr Trump of ‘violating international law, free trade, and the principle of free navigation’.
The statement read: ‘On his social media, he assumes that Venezuela’s oil, land, and mineral wealth are his property. Consequently, he demands that Venezuela immediately hand over all its riches.
‘The President of the US intends to impose, in an utterly irrational manner, a supposed naval blockade on Venezuela with the aim of stealing the wealth that belongs to our nation.’
The US build-up has been accompanied by a series of military strikes on boats in international waters within the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
The campaign, which has drawn bipartisan scrutiny amongst US officials, has killed a minimum of 95 people in 25 known strikes on vessels.
Trump has said for weeks that the US will move its campaign beyond the water and begin strikes on land.
Operation Southern Spear: What has the US military done to date?
Operation Southern Spear, ordered by Trump and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, is aimed toward stopping illegal drugs from entering the US from South America.
The operation includes nearly a dozen Navy ships and about 12,000 sailors and Marines congregating within the Caribbean, with US forces having conducted bomber flights near Venezuela already.
US forces have carried out multiple fatal strikes targeting boats in Venezuelan waters following claims they were carrying drugs linked to gangs.
In September, a strike against a Venezuelan gang within the Caribbean left 11 people dead in international waters, prompting questions on the legality of the attack.
Sources told CNN that UK officials imagine the September strike, and others, violate international law after having killed 76 people to date.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk went one step further – calling them ‘extrajudicial killing’.
The Trump administration has defended the strikes as a hit, saying they’ve prevented drugs from reaching American shores and pushed back on concerns that they’re stretching the bounds of lawful warfare.
What form of assets does Venezuela have?
Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves and produces about a million barrels a day, has long relied on oil revenue as a lifeblood of its economy.
For the reason that Trump administration began imposing oil sanctions on Venezuela in 2017, Maduro’s government has relied on a shadowy fleet of unflagged tankers to smuggle crude into global supply chains.
The state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) has been locked out of worldwide oil markets by US sanctions, and it sells most of its exports at a steep discount within the black market in China.
In October, Trump appeared to verify reports that Maduro offered a stake in Venezuela’s oil and other mineral wealth in recent months to attempt to stave off mounting pressure from the US.
Trump said on the time: ‘He’s offered the whole lot. You understand why? Because he doesn’t need to f*** around with the US.’
What ships does the US have within the Caribbean straight away?
The US Navy has 11 ships, including an aircraft carrier and a number of other amphibious assault ships, within the region.
Those ships carry a large complement of aircraft, including helicopters and V-22 Ospreys. Moreover, the Navy has been operating a handful of P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft within the region.
All told, those assets provide the military a major ability to watch marine traffic coming in and in a foreign country.
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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