[News] Venezuela condemns US oil blockade as 'irrational' theft attempt

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/veenzuela-condemns-us-oil-blockade-as--irrational--theft-att>
Venezuela condemns US oil blockade as 'irrational' theft attempt
Al Mayadeen English
December 17, 2025
------------------------------

Venezuela condemned the U.S. oil blockade announced by President Trump,
calling it an "irrational" move aimed at looting the country's resources.
Caracas warned the action could cripple its economy.

   - [image: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks at the Supreme
   Court in Caracas, Venezuela on July 31, 2024. (AP)]
   <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2025/12/17/2ac1075f-1946-49c5-8b6b-ff8966a98b8c.png?width=1000>
   Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks at the Supreme Court in Caracas,
   Venezuela on July 31, 2024. (AP)

Venezuela has fiercely condemned US President Donald Trump’s declaration of
a total blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers to and from the country,
warning the move could further devastate its struggling economy.

Trump earlier announced
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/trump-labels-venezuelan-gov-t-terrorist--orders-oil-blockade>
that his administration officially designated Venezuela’s current government
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/maduro-slams-us-motives-amid-trump-s-venezuela-threat>
 as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, citing allegations of terrorism, drug
trafficking, human trafficking, and the theft of US assets.

"Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in
the History of South America," Trump wrote on Truth Social Tuesday, vowing
the blockade would intensify unless Venezuela returned what he claimed was
"stolen oil, land, and other assets.”

He continued that "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 ORGANIZATION."

Trump also declared a “total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil
tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, escalating US pressure on the
government of President Nicolás Maduro.
Maduro's office responds

"The President of the United States intends to impose, in an utterly
irrational manner, a supposed naval blockade on Venezuela with the aim of
stealing the riches that belong to our homeland," the government of
President Nicolás Maduro said in an official statement on Tuesday.

Caracas accused Washington of economic sabotage and called on the
international community to oppose what it labeled a “modern-day piracy
campaign” against a sovereign nation.
Oil lies in depths of Trump's campaign against Venezuela: NYT

Venezuela’s vast oil reserves
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/caracas-halts-gas-supply-deals-with-trinidad---tobago--cites>
 have become a central, though often unstated, factor shaping the Trump
administration’s approach toward Caracas, alongside its public allegation
of countering "drug trafficking and authoritarianism," according to an
opinion piece published by *The New York Times*.
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/oil-lies-in-depths-of-trump-s-campaign-against-venezuela--ny>

The article points to recent outreach by María Corina Machado
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/now-is-not-the-time-for-hesitation-but-for-courage--struggle>,
Venezuela’s main US-backed opposition leader and a Nobel Peace Prize
laureate, who addressed a business conference in Miami by live video
attended by American executives and political figures, including US
President Donald Trump.

In her remarks, Machado described what she called a “$1.7 trillion
opportunity,” pledging that a future Venezuela would open its oil
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/pdvsa-says-cyberattack-neutralized--oil-operations-unaffecte>,
gas, mineral, and power sectors to foreign companies. The article notes
that she has repeatedly promoted Venezuela’s investment potential to US
audiences, including in a podcast appearance with Donald Trump Jr.
Drugs over the counter vs. oil under the counter

The article states that while the Trump administration cites drug
trafficking to justify pressure on Maduro,
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/latin-intellectuals-slam-nobel-jury-for-hailing--war-advocat>
Venezuela isn’t a major producer, and most drugs transit to Europe.
Privately, US officials are more focused on Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

*The New York Times*' opinion recalls Trump’s past public statements expressing
interest in Venezuela’s energy resources
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/maduro-slams-us-motives-amid-trump-s-venezuela-threat>
 and argues that this dynamic was highlighted by the recent US seizure of
an oil tanker carrying Venezuelan crude across the Caribbean. Trump said
the United States would retain the cargo, a move the article says could
face legal challenges.

The article describes the recent US seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/venzuela-condemns-us-seizure-of-oil-tanker-as--international>
 as a sharp escalation in Trump’s months-long campaign against Maduro
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-sanctions-maduro-s-family--venezuelan-oil-transport-compa>,
which it says has included at least 25 attacks on boats, resulting in a
minimum of 95 deaths, acts many legal experts consider illegal and
extrajudicial killing.

Venezuela’s oil lies at the nexus of two of Trump’s stated national
security priorities: dominance over energy resources and control of the
Western Hemisphere. The country holds roughly 17% of the world’s known oil
reserves, more than 300 billion barrels, nearly four times the US total.
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