I am now more convinced than ever that Trump is going to squeeze Venezuela until President Nicolás Maduro either resigns or starts a war.
Trump’s latest move was to order a blockade to prevent oil tankers from leaving Maduro's country.
The president is getting compliments as well as criticism from both sides of the aisle for the decision.
Trump announced the action on X, posting, "Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada 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 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.”
The post continued, "The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping. For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.”
He concluded, "Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela. The Illegal Aliens and Criminals that the Maduro Regime has sent into the United States during the weak and inept Biden Administration, are being returned to Venezuela at a rapid pace. America will not allow Criminals, Terrorists, or other Countries, to rob, threaten, or harm our Nation and, likewise, will not allow a Hostile Regime to take our Oil, Land, or any other Assets, all of which must be returned to the United States, IMMEDIATELY."
There is no doubt that Trump wants Maduro out and the opposition leader installed. There were even reports that Trump had reached out to Maduro, offering him protection to leave as long as he resigned immediately, but no deal was reached. So, Trump is now squeezing Maduro until he breaks, one way or the other.
I have covered the negative comments made by Republicans about Trump on this issue in other reports, so I wanted to concentrate on the conflict he is facing from the Democrat Party for this one.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) led the attack for the Democrats, claiming that the latest actions were part of a “movement, largely led by Marco Rubio, to topple Venezuela.”
He then added, “These guys want to get us into a war. They want to create a justification for us to be in a war.”
I am not disagreeing with him, but I think most people would agree that a lot of the problems facing Venezuela would go away if Maduro went away. So, once again, Trump has backed Democrats into a corner where they are literally defending a dictator.
Then we have Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who has avoided the trap into which most Democrats repeatedly fall when it comes to Trump. Fetterman says the president's actions all make sense.
He stated, “Iran is involved on that and Russia’s involved on that and China as well, too. A lot of those things — that’s sanctioned oil right now. And those are the kinds of funds that support regions -- like in Iran as well, too.”
Fetterman continued, “And now, absolutely, right now, it’s not a plan to, like, a land war and invade Venezuela and that, but seizing those kinds of oil tankers -- and it’s undeniable that that’s oil that’s going to support Iran, and those are the kinds of funds that are used [for] all kinds of illicit things with terrorism. So, for me, it makes a lot of sense, at least with what I’ve seen.”
I think Trump is in the right here, and this has nothing to do with Maduro and everything to do with Iran. This blockage also puts the squeeze on Iran because it relies, in part, on the crude sent to it by Venezuela, just as much as Venezuela depends on the light crude and condensate returned by Iran. The blockade hurts both nations, and if it removes Maduro from power, all the better.
