US orders Venezuela to return oil, land, hits full tanker blockade Caracas pushes back

US President Donald Trump demanded that Venezuela return all oil, land, and other “stolen” assets to the United States and ordered a total blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving the country.

On his Truth Social account, he warned that a substantial military force is now deployed off the coast of the Bolivarian Republic, Caliber.Az reports.

“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before,” Trump warned.

The American leader also declared the current Venezuelan authorities a foreign terrorist organisation, accusing Nicolás Maduro’s “illegitimate” regime of using oil to fund itself, drug terrorism, human trafficking, killings, and kidnappings.

In line with this, he ordered a “total and complete” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.

“America will not allow Criminals, Terrorists, or other Countries, to rob, threaten, or harm our Nation and, likewise, will not allow a Hostile Regime to take our Oil, Land, or any other Assets, all of which must be returned to the United States, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump concluded.

In response, the Venezuelan government swiftly rejected these demands.

Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said that Venezuela, in full compliance with both domestic and international law, affirms its sovereignty over all its natural resources and maintains the right to free navigation and trade. She condemned Trump’s remarks as interventionist and colonialist, rejecting the notion that the United States could claim another nation’s resources.

“Venezuela will never again be a colony of any empire or foreign power,” Rodríguez emphasised, highlighting Caracas’ determination to defend its sovereignty.

US military and sanctions pressure on Venezuela has sharply increased through 2025, including the deployment of naval forces and strikes on vessels alleged to be linked to drug trafficking, which Caracas frames as threats of aggression.

Tensions rose further on December 10, when US forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast—a move Caracas condemned as “international piracy.”

Washington maintains that its actions are aimed at disrupting illicit oil shipping networks used to fund foreign terrorist organisations, while Venezuela argues that these measures constitute economic warfare and breach international maritime law.

On December 16, Maduro urged US citizens to act against what he described as a war that Trump seeks to provoke over Venezuelan oil.

By Jeyhun Aghazada