Venezuelan leader calls for "perfect union" with Colombia as tensions with US simmer

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on December 17 issued an appeal for a "perfect union" with Colombia to defend both countries' sovereignty, directly responding to U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of a naval blockade and demands for the return of Venezuelan oil assets.

In his speech on December 17, Maduro addressed Colombians directly: "I make my call … to the ordinary people of Colombia, to its social movements, to its political forces, to the Colombian military, whom I know very well. I call upon them for a perfect union with Venezuela so that no one dares touch the sovereignty of our countries," Caliber.Az reports per CNN.

Maduro framed the U.S. actions as an existential threat, accusing Trump of practising a "diplomacy of barbarism" that violates principles of international coexistence. He tied the escalation to long-standing grievances over Venezuela's oil nationalisations and recent U.S. military moves in the Caribbean.

The speech followed a phone call the same day between Maduro and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. According to Venezuela's government, Maduro urged the UN to "categorically reject" Trump's statements as "a direct threat to sovereignty, international law, and peace." Guterres' office confirmed the conversation, stating the secretary-general "reaffirmed the United Nations’ position on the need for member states to respect international law, particularly the United Nations Charter, exert restraint and de-escalate tensions to preserve regional stability."

The exchanges came one day after Trump, on December 16, announced via Truth Social a "total and complete blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela. Describing the country as "completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America," Trump demanded Venezuela return "all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us"—referencing the 1976 nationalization of the oil industry and Hugo Chávez's 2007 seizures of U.S. company assets (ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and others). International arbitration courts later awarded billions in compensation to those firms, awards Venezuela has not fully paid.

Trump designated Maduro's government a foreign terrorist organisation and linked the campaign to countering drug trafficking, though his statements emphasised economic reclamation. The blockade targets hundreds of sanctioned vessels, with potential impacts on global oil flows.

In response, Venezuela ordered its navy to escort commercial ships carrying petroleum products, urea, and petroleum coke from ports such as José toward Asian markets, beginning the night of December 17–18. While these vessels were not carrying crude oil on the U.S. sanctions list, the move deliberately challenged the blockade threat and heightened risks of direct naval confrontation.

Flightradar24 data on December 17–18 showed intensified U.S. carrier-based air activity off Venezuela's coast, including F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters, EA-18G Growler electronic-warfare aircraft, and E-2D Hawkeye airborne early-warning platforms—consistent with the ongoing U.S. naval deployment known as Operation Southern Spear.

By Khagan Isayev