American Blockade on Venezuelan Oil... Serious Political and Economic Repercussions Locally and Internationally

Military personnel appear aboard the amphibious assault ship at Rafael Cordero Santiago port in Puerto Rico, (AFP).

Amid escalating American pressure on Nicolás Maduro's regime, the political and economic repercussions on Venezuela are increasing both locally and internationally. The policy of force adopted by U.S. President Donald Trump reflects an escalating approach that could have serious political and economic consequences.

Trump said he ordered a blockade on all "sanctioned oil tankers" heading to Venezuela. This step comes after U.S. forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela last week, an unusual move following a military buildup in the region.

In a social media post, Trump announced the blockade, claiming that Venezuela uses oil revenues to finance drug trafficking and other criminal activities.

He added that "the Venezuelan regime has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization. Venezuela is completely blockaded with the largest naval fleet assembled in the history of South America."

Venezuela holds the largest oil reserves in the world, but it operates far below capacity due to international sanctions. Most of the country's oil is sold to China, according to CNN.

Trump has repeatedly said that ground strikes will be carried out soon. While U.S. officials largely describe the operation as aimed at combating drug trafficking, Vanity Fair magazine published an interview with Suzie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff, indicating that the goal of these efforts is to pressure Maduro to step down.

If Trump indeed intends to designate Maduro's government as a foreign terrorist organization—a step legally taken by the State Department, not the White House—Venezuela would become the first country to be classified as such, according to The Washington Post. Other "banned" governments, including Iran and North Korea, are similarly prohibited but have not been designated as terrorist organizations.

Dr. Iyad Sakriya, a political science professor at the Lebanese University, told An-Nahar that increasing pressure on Maduro, especially through imposing a ban on oil tankers, will have wide political and economic repercussions. Politically, these pressures will be reflected locally, regionally, and internationally, in addition to their impact inside Venezuela, where there is broad and strong opposition against Maduro, pushing the U.S. administration to continue its policy of force and intensify pressure to topple the regime.