US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, 16th December (local time), announced a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into or out of Venezuela. He made this move to escalate pressure on Nicolas Maduro’s government. In a post on Truth Social, Trump called Venezuela a foreign terrorist Organisation. He accused Maduro of using oil money to support drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping.
US President @realDonaldTrump has announced a full blockade of all tankers going in and out of Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/MwM90ZVVhQ
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) December 17, 2025
Trump wrote, “Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.” He tied this to illegal immigrants and criminals that Maduro sent to the US during the Biden years, saying they are now heading back to Venezuela fast.
He added the US has put together the biggest naval armada ever in South America around Venezuela. He warned that the pressure on Caracas will only get stronger until stolen US assets like oil, land, and other resources are returned.
This blockade hits Venezuela’s money-makers, oil exports. The country’s oil industry is run by state-owned PDVSA and has faced tough US sanctions since 2005. In 2019, during Trump’s first term, the US stopped PDVSA from selling crude to America. Biden gave Chevron a license in 2022 to help lower global fuel prices, but Trump cancelled it in March and then brought it back with strict rules so no money goes to Maduro.
Chevron is now the only US company working there, sharing some output with PDVSA. Back in the 1970s, US firms had a big role in Venezuela’s oil fields before nationalisation. Trump wants the US back in that business. Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, but production is down from sanctions and a lack of investment. Most exports now go to China.
Trump has also talked about possible strikes on Venezuelan land. The US has moved thousands of troops and a carrier strike group to the Caribbean. They have hit drug-smuggling boats there, killing 87 people and destroying 23 vessels. Trump keeps hinting at land action soon.
US seized sanctioned Oil Tanker off Venezuela
Just before the blockade news, the US grabbed a sanctioned oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast. Trump said on Wednesday, 10th December, it was a huge one, the largest ever and other actions are underway. He added they would keep the oil. Venezuela called it outright theft and an act of international piracy. They plan to complain to global groups.
This is the first time the US has taken a Venezuelan oil cargo under sanctions since 2019. It came after Trump built up military forces in the area. US Attorney General Pam Bondi shared on Twitter that the FBI, Homeland Security, Coast Guard, and military team carried out the seizure of a crude tanker moving sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. She posted a 45-second video of helicopters closing in, with armed people in camouflage dropping onto the ship.
British group Vanguard said it was the very large crude carrier Skipper, hit with US sanctions for Iranian oil trades when it was named Adisa. Iran’s embassy in Caracas slammed it as a big breach of international laws.
