Trump orders blockade of ‘sanctioned oil tankers’ into Venezuela
Global News
United States President Donald Trump said he is ordering a blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” into Venezuela, pressuring the country’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro.
United States President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is ordering a blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on the country’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy.
Trump’s escalation comes after U.S. forces last week seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, an unusual move that followed a buildup of military forces in the region. In a post on social media Tuesday night announcing the blockade, Trump alleged Venezuela was using oil to fund drug trafficking and other crimes and vowed to continue the military buildup until the country gave the U.S. oil, land and assets, though it was not clear why he felt the U.S. had a claim.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform. “It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — 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.”
Pentagon officials referred all questions about the post to the White House.
Venezuela’s government released a statement Tuesday accusing Trump of “violating international law, free trade, and the principle of free navigation” with “a reckless and grave threat” against the South American country.
“On his social media, he assumes that Venezuela’s oil, land, and mineral wealth are his property,” the statement said of Trump’s post.
“Consequently, he demands that Venezuela immediately hand over all its riches. 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 wealth that belongs to our nation.”
Maduro’s government, according to the statement, plans to denounce the situation before the United Nations.
Thomas Plamberger and his girlfriend, Kerstin Gurtner, were attempting to scale Austria's tallest mountain in the middle of winter, despite her inexperience.
The Canadian economy achieved a trade surplus for the first time since the trade war began, as exports rebounded and imports fell in September, according to Statistics Canada.
The development has frustrated deportations of foreign nationals accused of fuelling B.C.'s extortion boom.
The NHL says if the ice rinks for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics aren't to standards by game time, its players will not be attending the games.
Sixty-seven fertility clinics used the donor's sperm in 14 different countries.
The CBSA was responding to an officer who said the agency abandoned him amid an Indian disinformation campaign.
Trump's interview with Politico focused in part on a new national security strategy that sharply criticizes European allies and warns against NATO expansion.
Zelenskyy continued shoring up European support for Ukraine's position in peace negotiations, meeting with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome and Pope Leo outside the city.
First established in 1823, the Monroe Doctrine has been used to justify American dominance and influence over the western hemisphere, particularly in Latin America.
To become the world's youngest rated player, Sarwagya Singh Kushwaha beat multiple players in their 20s.
U.S. President Donald Trump's diplomatic efforts to end the nearly-four-year-old war have run into sharply conflicting demands by Russia and Ukraine.
The burst pipe, which damaged hundreds 19th and 20th century books, occurred mere weeks after the brazen daylight heist of royal jewels.
The magnitude 7.2 quake struck off the coast of Hokkaido, near the coastal city of Aomori with an epicenter about 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) below the sea surface.