The White House has reportedly ordered US military forces to focus almost exclusively on enforcing a “quarantine” of Venezuelan oil for at least the next two months, which could dim prospects for ground operations despite repeated threats from President Donald Trump.
The US has not ruled out military strikes against Venezuela, but is currently focusing on putting economic pressure on President Nicolas Maduro, whom the Trump administration accuses of running a drug cartel, according to a Reuters report citing White House officials.
“While military options still exist, economic pressure by enforcing sanctions must first be used to achieve the outcome the White House is seeking,” the official was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The official went on to add that the “belief” in the Trump administration is that Maduro will face such an “economic disaster” by the end of January that he will have to make “significant concessions” to the US.
There are currently about 15,000 US troops and 11 warships near Venezuela
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Trump Announces “Blockade”
The reported development comes days after Trump announced a “blockade” on the Truth Social website of “all sanctioned oil tankers” entering and leaving Venezuela.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest military ever assembled in the history of South America. It will only get bigger and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen – until they return to the United States of America all the oil, land and other assets they previously stole from us,” Trump wrote more than a week ago.
“Therefore, today I am ordering a TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKER SHIPS bound for and from Venezuela,” the US president added.
While a naval blockade constitutes an act of war under international law, Trump seems to have had something else in mind.
According to ABC News, which cited a former military and State Department official, Trump’s specification of targeting only “sanctioned” oil tankers signals that U.S. action against Venezuela will for now be limited to a legal quarantine as part of broader enforcement by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The latest development from the White House seems to confirm the same, with the US military only tasked with enforcing the “quarantine”.
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Pressure is growing on Maduro
In the past few months, the Trump administration has been increasing pressure on Maduro, whose legitimacy is being questioned not only by the Venezuelan opposition, but also by more than 50 countries around the world, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
To that end, the Trump administration has carried out over two dozen attacks on alleged drug boats that have so far left more than 100 dead.
The US also seized two Venezuelan oil tankers, The Skipper and Centuries. A third tanker, the Bella 1, was actively pursued but escaped into the Atlantic Ocean, according to Bloomberg.
The Trump administration has also designated Venezuelan criminal gangs and government-linked groups such as the Cartel de los Soles as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs).
