Donald Trump no longer makes any secret about the US’s motives towards Venezuela.Image: keystone
The USA originally claimed that the operations against Venezuela were about the fight against drug trafficking – now the Americans are revealing a different motive: they are demanding oil fields from Venezuela.
December 17, 2025, 04:21Dec 17, 2025, 04:24
That’s what happened
Next level of escalation in the conflict between the USA and Venezuela: US President Trump has ordered a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers calling at Venezuela. In addition, the US President is demanding what critics have long accused of being his central motive: access to Venezuela’s oil fields.
That’s what Trump says
Trump wrote in a post on the Truth Social platform that Venezuela had stolen “oil, land and other assets” from the USA and called for their “IMMEDIATE” return.
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world. The export of oil is the country’s most important source of income. At the beginning of the 2000s, Venezuela nationalized oil fields, affecting foreign companies, including those from the USA. A dispute over compensation ensued.
Trump continued to threaten the military presence in the Caribbean, which has long been increased. The South American country is surrounded by the largest fleet ever assembled in the history of South America. This will continue to grow until the time it is returned, Trump wrote.
Trump also addressed previous justifications for aggression against Venezuela. He described the government of the authoritarian Nicolás Maduro as a terrorist organization and accused the regime in Venezuela of, among other things, the alleged theft of US assets. The US President accused Maduro’s government of financing itself with oil from “these stolen oil fields” and also of drug “terrorism”, human trafficking, murder and kidnappings.
The tanker blockade
In addition to the demand for the oil fields, Trump issued a blockade against sanctioned oil tankers that call at Venezuela. He announced this in his usual style and using lots of capital letters: He had a “TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS,” said Trump.
Days ago, the USA had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, making it clear that they were by no means just concerned with combating drug smuggling. Oil exports are by far Venezuela’s most important source of income. In particular, the country ships large quantities of oil to China and maintains good trade relations with the Eastern world power. The US blockade, which is not yet clear how it will be enforced, is massively increasing the pressure on Venezuela’s government.
Nicolás Maduro is under considerable pressure from the USA.Image: keystone
This is how Venezuela reacts
The Venezuelan government condemned Trump’s “grotesque threat” and described it as a serious violation of international law. In a statement it was said that Trump had once again revealed his true intentions of wanting to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves.
Caracas reaffirmed the country’s sovereignty over all its resources as well as its right to free navigation and trade. The country will act in strict accordance with the UN Charter and peacefully defend its rights and territory “in perfect unity between the population, military and police”.
The backstory
Things have been simmering between the USA and Venezuela for years. The government of the socialist and dictatorial Maduro is a thorn in the side of the Americans. In the past few weeks, Donald Trump had turned the escalation screw and spoke publicly about removing Maduro.
Officially, the USA accused the Maduro government of being involved in drug trafficking and promoting drug exports to the USA. Maduro, however, complained that Trump was interested in his overthrow in order to seize the country’s large oil reserves.
The USA had recently concentrated considerable forces in the Caribbean. An aircraft carrier, the largest warship in the world, was deployed to the region. There have been numerous deadly attacks by the military on boats carrying people suspected of smuggling drugs. Critics see the action as a violation of international law, but Trump’s government speaks of a legitimate fight against “drug terrorists”.
The USA has a big drug problem. But Trump blames other countries for this. He had recently repeatedly announced that he would soon be deploying ground operations in the region. Some time ago, the US President publicly confirmed that he had also approved covert operations by the CIA in Venezuela.
con with material from the news agencies sda and dpa.