Posted on 12/16/2025 5:42:40 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is ordering a blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on the country’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy.
Trump’s escalation comes after U.S. forces last week seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, an unusual move that followed a buildup of military forces in the region. In a post on social media Tuesday night announcing the blockade, Trump alleged Venezuela was using oil to fund drug trafficking and other crimes and vowed to continue the military buildup until the country gave the U.S. oil, land and assets, though it was not clear why he felt the U.S. had a claim.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform. “It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”
Pentagon officials referred all questions about the post to the White House.
Venezuela’s government press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But before Trump’s announcement Tuesday, Maduro praised Venezuela for having “proven to be a strong country” in the face of U.S. pressure.
“Venezuela has 25 weeks denouncing, confronting and defeating a campaign of multidimensional aggression, ranging from psychological terrorism to the piracy of the corsairs who assaulted the oil tanker,” Maduro said on state television Tuesday.
He added, “We have taken the oath to defend our homeland, and that on this soil peace and shared happiness..”
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
Makes you wonder what tomorrow’s address the nation is about.
Yup....
I, for one, will delay my Hallmark Christmas shows for THIS!
An overt act of war.
An overt exercise of the Monroe Doctrine.
I remember Desert Shield and the runup to Desert Storm. Superior airpower followed by the ground war, and that didn’t take too long, but this is a whole new ball game.
One I’d rather sit out.
War rhymes with...
Maduro refused Trump’s offer and I think that if he lives, he’ll live to regret it.
“An overt exercise of the Monroe Doctrine.”
Yes, and we don’t need BRICS attacking us from bases in our own backyard.
as always- MSM propaganda articles come without meaning ful details. I just unvoluntarily heard part of an ABC radio news report. They mentioned Trump’s talk of
” Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”
And then ABC ended with “Whatever that means”.
And I have to admit that I don’t know.
Major Asset Seizures by Venezuela
General Motors (GM): In April 2017, Venezuelan authorities “illegally seized” the assets of a General Motors plant, forcing the automaker to halt its operations in the country. GM’s only plant in the country was taken over by the state.
DirecTV: In May 2020, Venezuela’s high court ordered the immediate seizure of all DirecTV property after the U.S. company abandoned its services, a decision made in response to U.S. sanctions.
Oil Assets: The Venezuelan government under Hugo Chávez and later Nicolás Maduro nationalized various foreign-owned oil projects and mining operations, including those belonging to companies like ConocoPhillips. These actions have led to international arbitration cases and court judgments, with U.S. courts eventually ordering the sale of Venezuela’s U.S.-based oil refiner Citgo to partially satisfy claims from these expropriations.
Several previous Venezuelan leaders seized and nationalized U.S. assets, mostly oil-related. The president is saying this theft needs to be redressed.
This may be of interest. The U.S. Naval Institute.
“Monroe Doctrine Revisited
Fraught U.S. relations with and regarding Venezuela have a long history of conditioning power politics in the Western Hemisphere.”
https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2025/december/monroe-doctrine-revisited
From the above,
“But Secretary Hegseth’s X post marked a new phase in Southern Spear. No longer is this a humble venture spearheaded by unmanned vehicles and Coast Guard cutters. At this writing, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is prowling waters near Venezuela accompanied by guided-missile destroyers and the Iwo Jima amphibious ready group. The firepower attached to this force includes dozens of fighter/attack jets, hundreds of cruise missiles, and a Marine expeditionary unit.”
Let Venezuela declare war on us. They have no allies of any power. Iran is nothing. Cuba is nothing. China doesn’t care. Russia is busy sending their boys to the meat grinder in Ukraine.
The article says these “sanctioned oil tankers” are unflagged. I find that odd. Why would a ship decide to fly no flag at all, not even one of convenience?
Should be quick and easy. Then, the trillion for nation building begins. That’ll really help at the midterms. After all, he ran on a platform of more war..
Thanks. And the MSM knows that and fails to report it. Instead they just present Trump as delusional.
No one voted for that.
Let’s not have American troops in harm’s way in Venezuela.
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