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President Donald Trump announced this Tuesday a total oil blockade against Venezuela and a tightening of deportations, in a message posted on his social network Truth Social, where he directly accused Nicolás Maduro’s regime of financing criminal activities with energy resources.
"Today I order a total and complete blockade of all authorized oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela," Trump stated, asserting that Venezuelan oil is being used to finance "narcoterrorism, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping."
In his statement, Trump asserted that Venezuela is "completely surrounded" by military forces and warned that pressure will increase until the country returns to the United States "all the oil, land, and other assets" that, he claimed, were previously stolen.
The president once again described Maduro's government as an "illegitimate regime" and labeled it as a foreign terrorist organization.
The announcement also includes a tightening of immigration policy, with an emphasis on the expedited deportation of immigrants whom Trump labeled as “illegal and criminal,” blaming them for being sent to the United States by the Venezuelan government during Joe Biden’s administration.
According to him, these deportations are already happening "at an accelerated pace."
Although Trump did not detail the legal mechanisms or the immediate scope of these measures, the message signifies another rhetorical and political escalation against Caracas, in a context of high regional tension and with potential repercussions on energy markets and migration flows from South America and the Caribbean.
So far, the Venezuelan government has not issued an official response to the announcement.
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