The blockade comes a week after US forces seized the giant Skipper tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a sanctioned tanker accused of carrying illicit oil.

Donald Trump has ordered a naval blockade of all sanctioned tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. The US president made the announcement in a post on the social media platform Truth. "Venezuela," Trump wrote, "is completely surrounded by the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America. And it will continue to grow. And the shock to them will be unlike anything they've ever seen until they return to the United States of America all the oil, land, and other assets they stole from us. He Noted “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,” 

The illegitimate Maduro regime 

According to Trump, "the illegitimate Maduro regime is using oil from these stolen fields to finance itself, drug-related terrorism, human trafficking, assassinations, and kidnappings. The Venezuelan regime has been designated a foreign terrorist organization." The United States, Trump declared, "will not allow criminals, terrorists, or other countries to steal, threaten, or harm our nation, and likewise will not allow a hostile regime to take our oil, lands, or other assets, all of which must be returned to the United States immediately."

A statement of the Venezuelan government

The Venezuelan government issued a statement in response to the announced blockade, saying it rejected Trump’s “grotesque threat”.“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 said.

Piracy and oil plunder

Earlier, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that “the world will rise up against piracy and oil plunder” over the US administration’s “theft” last week of a tanker vessel carrying Venezuelan crude oil, the Agencia Venezuela News site reported.

According to calculations by TankerTrackers.

According to calculations by TankerTrackers.com, only 40% of the active dark fleet serving Venezuela is subject to US sanctions. "Trump's declaration of blocking 'all sanctioned tankers' implies that cargoes deemed legitimate—namely, oil destined for the United States under Chevron licenses—could continue to flow. This suggests that Venezuelan supply to sanctioned markets would be disrupted, while volumes destined for the United States would remain intact, with cargoes bound for China and Cuba bearing the brunt of the impact," according to an analysis by Kpler.

The giant Skipper tanker off the coast of Venezuela,

The blockade comes a week after US forces seized the giant Skipper tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a sanctioned tanker accused of carrying illicit oil. The vessel and its cargo of crude were later transferred to the United States. With Venezuela's economy heavily dependent on oil revenues, the blockade is poised to further disrupt crude oil flows and likely reshape tanker trade dynamics in the region. However, it raises complex questions about international law and freedom of navigation, as critics warn the move borders on an act of war in the absence of a clear congressional mandate

Reduce Venezuela’s export volumes

If effectively implemented, the blockade could significantly reduce Venezuela’s export volumes, which would be positive for compliant tonnage,” highlight maritime analysts at Scandinavian bank SEB, who believe any lost Venezuelan barrels will be replaced by supplies from the Americas or the Middle East, transported exclusively on non-sanctioned vessels, thus supporting demand for the compliant fleet.

US Congressman Joaquin Castro, a Democrat representing Texas, said Trump’s blockade was “unquestionably an act of war”.The Russian Foreign Ministry said that tensions around Venezuela could have unpredictable consequences for the entire West, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Related : U.S. Coast Guard seizes Panama-registered Oil tanker moving sanctioned of Coast Venezuelan

US naval blockade ,all sanctioned tankers , Chevron Nicolas Maduro, , Venezuela’s export volumes ,Donald Trump