United States President Donald Trump has ordered “a total and complete” blockade of all US-sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela,
Al Jazeera reports.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Tuesday evening.
“For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION,” Trump said.
“Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela,” he said.
The Venezuelan government issued a statement in response to the announced blockade, saying it rejected Trump’s “grotesque threat”.
“The President of the United States intends to impose, in an utterly irrational manner, a supposed naval blockade on Venezuela with the aim of stealing the riches that belong to our homeland,” the government said.
Earlier, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that “the world will rise up against piracy and oil plunder” over the US administration’s “theft” last week of a tanker vessel carrying Venezuelan crude oil, the Agencia Venezuela News site reported.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that tensions around Venezuela could have unpredictable consequences for the entire West, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
US forces seized the Skipper oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela and were reported to have brought the vessel to the US state of Texas to unload its oil cargo.
