Donald Trump has taken a new step in his war against Nicolas Maduro, whom he accuses of being the leader of the Cartel des Soleils. The President of the United States ordered this Tuesday the total lock of all his country’s sanctioned tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, a nation that depends almost entirely on the export of crude oil. Currently there is 18 tankers under sanctions from Washington, loaded in Venezuelan waters monitored by the United States and, as reported this Wednesday by the Axios portal, the American army will confiscate them if they leave international waters. But Trump is not only surrounding the Chavista leader by sea, but also by air, since the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States published another notice this Tuesday to airlines in the face of the “deterioration of the security situation”.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest navy ever assembled in the history of South America. This will only grow and the shock to them will be great. like you’ve never seen before“Trump began by saying in a post in Truth Social before declaring that the Maduro regime had “stolen” oil, land and other assets from and with the United States. financed illegal activities like narcoterrorism. “This is why I am ordering a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela,” the American president announced. In addition, he recalled that Venezuelan migrants continue to be expelled “at an accelerated pace”.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller agreed with Trump and said the United States was the one that built Venezuela’s oil industry. “American sweat, ingenuity and toil created the oil industry in Venezuela. His tyrannical expropriation was the greatest theft ever recorded of American wealth and property,” Miller wrote in a message published in reserved exploration and exploitation rights deposits (previously held by foreign companies).
Caracas was quick to respond to Trump’s order. In a statement, the government of Nicolas Maduro described “grotesque threat” took up the words of the American president and affirmed that Trump “intends to impose in an absolutely irrational manner a so-called naval military blockade” to “steal” resources that Venezuela has. According to the Chavista leader’s administration, Trump’s decision violates “international law, free trade and free navigability.” The Executive also pointed out that Trump himself had declared on his social networks that Venezuela’s oil and wealth belonged to him. “Venezuela will never again be a colony of empire or any foreign power”, he concluded before ensuring that they would report these threats to the UN.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said Wednesday that the “rude and arrogant threats” of Trump is not “intimidating” Venezuela. “The Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) will preserve at all costs the current constitutional and democratic system, as well as the territorial integrity of the country,” said Padrino López, who also stressed that the army will defend air and maritime spaces Venezuelans. The Prosecutor’s Office, the Comptroller General’s Office and the Ombudsman’s Office also condemned the “aberrant threat” from the United States, which announced this Wednesday a “temporary operation” military in Ecuador to fight drug trafficking in the country.
Russia, “deeply concerned”
The escalation of tensions with Venezuela also provoked a reaction from Russia. “We are deeply concerned by the actions of the United States Navy. The Pentagon’s generally bellicose statements suggest that in addition to the illegal actions of sinking civilian ships without trial in the Caribbean, They are also planning a ground operation“, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who criticized Europe’s “silence” in the face of American actions. So far, Moscow has denied that Caracas requested military aid to confront the United States and He limited himself to defending Maduro and ask Washington not to destabilize the region.
Despite the blockade ordered by Trump, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) assured this Wednesday that exports of crude oil and its derivatives are developing normally. As the state company reports in a press release, oil tankers “continue sailing with full insurancetechnical support and operational guarantees”. PDVSA also argued that sanctions, “sabotage”, “cyberattacks” and “acts of international hacking” have failed to reduce the company’s operational capacity.
These statements differ from information published by Reuters on Monday. According to the British agency, a tanker carrying Russian naphtha – a diluent that must be applied to Venezuelan oil to facilitate its flow in pipelines – for the state-owned PDVSA and at least four supertankers that were supposed to handle crude oil shipments to Venezuela backed down after the United States seized the tanker Skipper last week on a judge’s order. Reuters also reported that pressure from Washington had oil exports almost completely paralyzed since last week and that the only ships that ship with Venezuelan crude oil are those of Chevron, an American oil giant which has the authorization to do so.
Increasing tensions between the United States and Venezuela also led the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue a warning on Tuesday. second warning to airlines on the “deterioration of the security situation” during flights over the country. The first was issued on November 22 and prompted a dozen airlines to cancel their flights to Venezuela (including the Spanish Iberia, Air Europa and Plus Ultra). “The threats could represent a potential risk to aircraft at all altitudes“, including during the flight, as well as in the arrival and departure phases of the flight,” specifies the FAA notice, which warns that the risk could extend to airports and aircraft on the ground.
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