Trump has ordered the total blockade of oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela
The US president has stressed that "Maduro's illegitimate regime is using stolen oil to finance drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping, among others."
U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the "total blockade of all oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela" to increase Washington's pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government.
Trump has claimed that Venezuela "is surrounded by the largest army ever in the history of South America," and that the impression will be unprecedented until the United States "returns all the oil, land, and other assets previously stolen."
In this way, the Republican has announced a "total blockade" on oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, in a significant escalation of the military operation launched in international Caribbean waters.
In his message, the president added that "Maduro's illegitimate regime is using stolen oil to finance drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping."
Following the president's order, it is not clear how many oil tankers it will affect, nor what consequences this measure will have for the Venezuelan oil industry.
Last week, the South American Command (a group that since August has attacked more than 30 boats allegedly linked to drug trafficking in the Caribbean and the East Pacific) made a change in its international water strategy by confiscating the Skipper tanker, which was transporting Venezuelan crude oil near the coast of the South American country, and was intercepted by US forces in the Caribbean by court order.
Washington sanctioned the ship for its connection to a "shadow fleet" of crude oil transport and was taken to a U.S. port to begin a process of confiscation of cargo.
Pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has escalated and even tightened relations between the two countries, as well as a decline in the embargo on Venezuelan oil and the threat of further confiscation of oil tankers in neighbouring waters.
You might like
Ukraine has launched more than 350 drones into Russia, including Moscow and St. Petersburg
The day before, attacks by the Russian Army on several cities in Ukraine resulted in at least 21 deaths and more than 100 injuries.
Trump signs an executive order restricting undocumented migrants' access to the financial system
According to the Republican president, access to national banking systems "must be only for those who have the legal right to stay in the country," and for those who "engage in legal trade."
Russia has launched a massive attack on Ukraine that has left at least 20 dead and more than a hundred injured
Moscow has described the bombing as a "response to the Kiev regime's terrorist attacks."
Trump lashes out at Netanyahu for his attacks on Lebanon: "You're crazy."
According to the US president, an agreement could be reached next week to end the war in Iran and open the Strait of Hormuz. On the contrary, Tehran has announced the suspension of talks with Washington .
Trump Announces Cessation of Israeli Attacks on Lebanon and Hezbollah on Israel
"I have had a very fruitful call with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, no troops are going to Beirut, and those on the way are back," Trump explained in a social media message.
Iran insists that Lebanon enters into a ceasefire agreement and warns that Israeli attacks will have consequences
Despite the ceasefire, Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has in recent hours ordered the army to bomb the Beirut region of Hezbollah as its stronghold.
One dead, dozens wounded, nearly 900 arrested and 178 officers beaten in the riots following the PSG victory
The Minister of the Interior has explained that 45% more arrests were made than last year, when a large police apparatus was deployed across the country in anticipation of riots. French President Emmanuel Macron said he was "fed up with unacceptable scenes of violence."
Colombia's far-right wins the first round, and the left questions the computing system
The far-right Abelardo de la Espirella has advanced left on Sunday in the first round of the Colombian elections, which will take place on June 21 and will face the left-wing candidate Ivan Cepeda.
A man recently returned from Congo has been isolated in Sardinia, Italy, on suspicion of Ebola
The man returned from the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on a flight that landed in Rome yesterday, Saturday, and then took another flight to Sardinia, where he reported that he had been in a fever for several days.
France calls for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council for Israeli operations in Lebanon
In mid-April, Israel established a "yellow line" (such as the one it applies in Gaza) that runs about ten kilometres from the border between the two countries, and the perimeter between them was invaded by Israeli troops.