In a decisive move, Donald Trump has labeled the Venezuelan government as a foreign terrorist organization and has imposed a “total and complete blockade” on any oil tankers that are sanctioned and either en route to or departing from the country.

Trump’s actions follow a series of drone strikes aimed at drug trafficking vessels in the region, a campaign that has resulted in the deaths of 95 individuals. This escalation signals a further intensification of his efforts to challenge the rule of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Describing the situation, Trump proclaimed, “Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America.” His stance is clear as he pressures Maduro, whom he consistently deems “illegitimate,” to relinquish control over Venezuela’s oil, land, and other assets which Trump claims the country has wrongfully acquired.

The U.S. President accuses Maduro of utilizing these resources to bankroll activities such as narco-terrorism, human trafficking, murder, kidnapping, and personal enrichment. These accusations underscore the gravity with which Trump views the actions of the Venezuelan regime and his commitment to countering its influence.

He accused him of using stolen oil to finance narco-terrorism, human trafficking, murder, kidnapping and self-enrichment. 

‘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,’ he said.

‘Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela. The Illegal Aliens and Criminals that the Maduro Regime has sent into the United States during the weak and inept Biden Administration, are being returned to Venezuela at a rapid pace.’

In a sharp escalation last week, US forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration has accused of smuggling illicit crude. 

Donald Trump has declared Venezuelan leadership a foreign terrorist organization and ordered ‘a total and complete blockade’ of sanctioned oil tankers headed to and from the country

The president’s drone strike campaign against drug boats in the region has killed 95 people to date but Trump is now going a step further in his campaign against dictator Nicolas Maduro (pictured)

Trump demanded Maduro’s ‘hostile regime’ return American assets ‘IMMEDIATELY.’ 

Trump has accompanied the strikes with a massive military buildup in the Caribbean that includes the world’s largest aircraft carrier and a slew of other warships, while a string of US military aircraft have flown along Venezuela’s coast in recent weeks.

While Trump and his administration say the target of the military buildup is drug-trafficking, Venezuela’s leftist leader Nicolas Maduro accuses Washington of using narcotics smuggling as a pretext for regime change in Caracas.

The United States has sought to link the two issues, accusing Maduro of leading the alleged ‘Cartel of the Suns,’ which it declared a ‘narco-terrorist’ organization last month, and offering a $50 million reward for information leading to his capture. 

The US military has built up its largest presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. 

The Trump administration has said the campaign is about stopping drugs headed to the US, but Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles appeared to confirm in a Vanity Fair interview published Tuesday that the campaign is part of a push to oust Maduro.

Wiles said Trump ‘wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.’

On Monday, the president signed an executive order that placed fentanyl in the same category as nuclear and chemical weapons, signifying how serious he is about stopping the flow of drugs into America.

Footage of a deadly military strike conducted by the US military on September 2

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (pictured left) and Trump (pictured right) have staunchly defended the strikes

Trump says land attacks are coming soon but has not offered any details on location. 

Meanwhile, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is continuing to face a barrage of questions for approving strikes on Venezuelan drug ships – especially regarding a now-infamous second strike on the first attack in September that killed two survivors. 

The controversy stems from a strike against a vessel in the Caribbean Sea that the Trump administration claimed was carrying cocaine en route to the US.

A US missile disabled the speedboat and killed most on board, but two survivors were observed clinging to the wreckage and were thought to be attempting to radio for help.

Pentagon officials have justified the administration’s action by arguing the decision to authorize the second strike on September 2 was based on a perceived ongoing threat.

Lawmakers are now demanding to get unedited video from the strikes, but Hegseth has told congressional leaders he was still weighing whether to release it. 

He instead provided a classified briefing for congressional leaders alongside Rubio and other top national security officials.

The same day, Admiral Alvin Holsey, who will be retiring from US Southern Command in this week, spoke separately with the Republican chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.