Recently, blocking the oil tankers from Venezuela US president Trump labels them as a terrorist regime after laying hold of crude off from coast. This puts a chokehold over Maduro’s regime as crude sales represent more than 90% of the South American country’s export income. It sharply escalated the tension over South American nations as Trump ordered a complete and total blockade. Venezuela is moving more than 600,000 barrels of oil every day, but the U.S. blockade could paralyse the tanker traffic which in turn would further squeeze the government’s finances.
Trump in his social media post mentioned that “illegitimate” Maduro is using oils from the stolen fields of US and is using it for financing drug terrorism, human trafficking, murders and kidnapping.
“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 organisation,” wrote Mr. Trump. “Therefore, today, i am ordering a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela.”
The White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair in an interview that the president’s approach is to “keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle. And people way smarter than me say that he will.”
Trump’s announcement came days after the U.S. seized a tanker carrying Venezuelan crude off its coast, tightening its stranglehold over the Maduro regime. The U.S. has already carried out dozens of air strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific waters on boats which it said were carrying drugs. The U.S. is also building up military presence around Venezuela, triggering speculations that it could start a new bombing campaign inside the country.