U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday designated Venezuela's government a foreign terror organization and announced a blockade of sanctioned oil tanker traffic to and from the country.
U.S. naval vessels have surrounded Venezuela, President Trump said, and would increase their presence "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."
"The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping," President Trump wrote on social media. "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."
U.S. ACTIVITY NEAR VENEZUELA | Full video of Venezuela drug boat strikes will not be made public, Hegseth says
The escalation comes less than a week after the U.S. Coast Guard, with support from the U.S. Navy, boarded and seized a Venezuelan tanker.
The Trump administration has sought to put new pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who the U.S. has charged with narcoterrorism.
In recent weeks the U.S. military has continued a campaign of strikes against alleged drug vessels in the region.
The strikes were conducted at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after intelligence confirmed the vessels were engaged in narco-trafficking, according to U.S. Southern Command.
Lawmakers have scrutinized a September 2nd strike that reportedly had survivors and was followed by a second strike, leading to accusations of potential war crime violations.
