US President Donald Trump has designated the current Venezuelan government as a foreign terrorist organization and announced a blockade of oil tankers traveling to the country.
“For the theft of our assets and for many other reasons, including terrorism, drug smuggling, and human trafficking, the Venezuelan regime has been designated a foreign terrorist organization,“ he wrote on the Truth Social social network.
Trump has announced a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers traveling to and from Venezuela.
He warned that the US will escalate military activity around Venezuela, which he said would face an unprecedented shock. shock.
“The shock for them will be unprecedented – until they return to the United States all the oil, land and other assets that were previously stolen from us“, the US president said.
Following Trump's statement, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called for continued global protests “against piracy by the United States government“, involving workers in the oil, gas and maritime industries.
Relations between Venezuela and the US have deteriorated significantly recently. Washington has repeatedly used military force to destroy boats allegedly carrying drugs. According to the US side, such operations are carried out to combat transnational crime and drug trafficking.
The White House has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela to destabilize the current government. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is allegedly using terrorist organizations to smuggle drugs into the United States. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has assured that Washington has no plans to go to war with Caracas. Reuters, citing US officials, reported that the United States is preparing to launch a new phase of operations against Venezuela, including the possible overthrow of Maduro.