{"id":3321,"date":"2025-12-17T23:12:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T23:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3321"},"modified":"2025-12-17T23:12:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T23:12:19","slug":"trump-ups-pressure-on-venezuelas-maduro-with-blockade-on-sanctioned-oil-tankers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3321","title":{"rendered":"Trump Ups Pressure on Venezuela&#8217;s Maduro With Blockade on Sanctioned Oil Tankers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at the <strong>United States<\/strong>\u2019 pressure campaign on <strong>Venezuela<\/strong>, charges against a suspect in <strong>Australia<\/strong>\u2019s Bondi Beach mass shooting, and abortion access across the <strong>European Union<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Going After Oil<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>U.S. President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/115731908387416458\">ordered<\/a> a \u201ctotal and complete blockade\u201d on Tuesday of all sanctioned oil tankers carrying crude into or out of Venezuela, accusing the regime of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro of using oil revenue to finance \u201cDrug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at the <strong>United States<\/strong>\u2019 pressure campaign on <strong>Venezuela<\/strong>, charges against a suspect in <strong>Australia<\/strong>\u2019s Bondi Beach mass shooting, and abortion access across the <strong>European Union<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/world-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<form data-shortcode-newsletter=\"world_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief newsletter-shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-world_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"World Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-world_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-world_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"world_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\" type=\"submit\"><br \/>\n      <span class=\"sign-up-text\">Sign Up<\/span><br \/>\n      <span class=\"loading-text\">Loading&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\n    <\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Going After Oil<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>U.S. President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/115731908387416458\">ordered<\/a> a \u201ctotal and complete blockade\u201d on Tuesday of all sanctioned oil tankers carrying crude into or out of Venezuela, accusing the regime of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro of using oil revenue to finance \u201cDrug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It is unclear how Trump will impose the order, including whether he will deploy the U.S. Coast Guard to intercept vessels, as he did last week with the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/11\/us-forces-seize-venezuela-oil-tanker-trump-pressure-campaign-maduro\/\">seizure of the <em>Skipper<\/em><\/a>, a previously sanctioned oil tanker falsely flying a Guyana flag.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration has previously insisted that the ongoing U.S. military campaign in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific is aimed at countering drug trafficking to the United States. That effort began in early September, with a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/02\/republicans-criticize-hegseth-caribbean-strike\/\">double-tap U.S. military strike<\/a> on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean that U.S. lawmakers and legal experts have suggested may have violated domestic and international law. Since then, the U.S. military has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/12\/15\/us\/politics\/drug-boat-strikes-pacific.html?campaign_id=9&amp;emc=edit_nn_20251216&amp;instance_id=168033&amp;nl=the-morning&amp;regi_id=159637444&amp;segment_id=212341&amp;user_id=3a92aa035d8e7d51a6ba63375b87c152\">carried out<\/a> 25 strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing at least 95 people.<\/p>\n<p>As part of this campaign, the White House has <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/11\/03\/military-buildup-venezuela-us-cuba-trump-maduro\/\">deployed<\/a> thousands of troops and nearly a dozen warships, including an aircraft carrier, to the region. In November, the U.S. State Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/releases\/office-of-the-spokesperson\/2025\/11\/terrorist-designations-of-cartel-de-los-soles\">designated<\/a> Venezuela\u2019s Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, alleging that the network is engaged in drug trafficking and is personally overseen by Maduro. And on Nov. 27, Trump threatened to launch strikes on drug traffickers inside Venezuela \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/americas\/trump-says-us-will-very-soon-begin-stopping-suspected-venezuelan-drug-2025-11-27\/\">very soon<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, Trump\u2019s statement on Tuesday announcing the blockade introduced a new rationale for the massive U.S. military buildup near Venezuela. \u201cVenezuela 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 \u2014 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,\u201d Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/115731908387416458\">wrote<\/a> on Truth Social.<\/p>\n<p>The announcement added new fuel to accusations by experts and critics alike that the Trump administration\u2019s true intention is to seek regime change in Caracas. Susie Wiles, the president\u2019s chief of staff, seemed to admit as much, telling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/story\/trump-susie-wiles-interview-exclusive-part-2\"><em>Vanity Fair<\/em><\/a> in a November interview that published on Tuesday that Trump \u201cwants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe administration has made clear its real interest is in starting a regime change war with Venezuela and going after its oil,\u201d Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/democrats-foreignaffairs.house.gov\/2025\/12\/meeks-issues-statement-following-briefing-with-secretaries-rubio-hegseth\">statement<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChoking off oil flows, the source of almost all of the Venezuelan government\u2019s revenue, could be a backbreaker for President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s rule,\u201d FP\u2019s Keith Johnson <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/17\/trump-blockade-venezuela-maduro-oil-tankers-sanctions\/\">wrote<\/a> on Wednesday, highlighting how the <em>Skipper<\/em>\u2019s interdiction has already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/americas\/venezuela-oil-chevron-0dca243f\">paralyzed<\/a> Venezuela\u2019s crude exports.<\/p>\n<p>Critics now fear that the blockade is a step toward the United States declaring war on Caracas. \u201cA naval blockade is unquestionably an act of war,\u201d Rep. Joaquin Castro <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JoaquinCastrotx\/status\/2001093939013513336\">wrote<\/a> on X on Tuesday. \u201cA war that the Congress never authorized and the American people do not want.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Venezuelan government has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/12\/17\/trump-orders-total-blockade-of-sanctioned-venezuelan-oil-tankers\">denounced<\/a> the blockade as a \u201cgrotesque threat,\u201d adding to Maduro\u2019s warning last week that \u201cthe world will rise up against piracy and oil plunder.\u201d Already, crude prices have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/americas\/trump-orders-blockade-sanctioned-oil-tankers-leaving-entering-venezuela-2025-12-16\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=121725&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">jumped<\/a> more than 1 percent across several global markets in response.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Today\u2019s Most Read<\/strong><\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>What We\u2019re Following<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Mass shooting charges. <\/strong>Australian authorities on Wednesday <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/bondi-shooting-hanukkah-jewish-funerals-sydney-australia-9625940bc9b2a746c7811bacdae9a0a2?user_email=6b04284e4d00370f16d3dac0a626e01bf24d86e4d6995646867da6aa680488d0&amp;utm_medium=Morning_Wire&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=Morning%20Wire%20Dec_17_2025&amp;utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers\">charged<\/a> a suspected gunman in Sydney\u2019s Bondi Beach mass shooting with 59 offenses, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist attack. Authorities said that 24-year-old Naveed Akram and his father, Sajid, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/15\/australia-bondi-beach-mass-shooting-antisemitism-albanese-gun-control\/\">opened fire<\/a> on worshippers at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration on Sunday, killing 15 people and injuring around 40 others. Sajid Akram was killed at the scene, but Naveed Akram was shot and placed in custody at a nearby hospital.<\/p>\n<p>According to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the shooting was inspired by \u201cIslamic State ideology.\u201d Investigators believe that the pair traveled to the Philippines last month for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/12\/17\/world\/asia\/australia-bondi-beach-shooting.html\">military-style training<\/a>, and they said that two homemade Islamic State flags and improvised explosive devices were found in a vehicle registered to Naveed Akram.<\/p>\n<p>This is evidence that the \u201cradical perversion of Islam is absolutely a problem\u201d in Australia and around the world, Albanese said, though he stressed that the suspects weren\u2019t part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/12\/16\/australia\/bondi-beach-shooting-suspects-intl-hnk-dst\">wider cell<\/a>. Australia\u2019s domestic security agency had investigated Naveed Akram for six months in 2019 because of his suspected connections to two jailed extremists, though \u201cno evidence\u201d was found at the time to deem him a threat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Abortion access. <\/strong>The European Parliament <a href=\"https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/news\/en\/press-room\/20251211IPR32167\/my-voice-my-choice-meps-support-citizens-initiative-on-accessible-abortion\">approved<\/a> legislation on Wednesday that would allow people from nations restricting abortion access to terminate their pregnancies in other European Union member states for free. With a vote of 358-202 with 79 abstentions, the proposal now goes to the European Commission, which will decide in March whether to adopt the bill.<\/p>\n<p>Under the proposed initiative, EU members would voluntarily opt-in to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/article\/europe-votes-to-expand-abortion-access-in-historic-vote\/\">financial mechanism<\/a> that would help fund abortion care for people from nations with near-total bans on the procedure or places where abortion is hard to access. Several European countries, such as the United Kingdom and France, have moved to decriminalize abortion in recent years. However, many EU member states still restrict the procedure, including <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/02\/12\/poland-abortion-rights-pro-choice-election-coalition-pis-law-ban\/\">Poland<\/a> (where abortion is outlawed in nearly all instances) and Italy (where access to abortion remains extremely limited).<\/p>\n<p>Proponents of the policy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/healthcare-pharmaceuticals\/europe-vote-scheme-help-abortion-access-2025-12-17\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=121725&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">argue<\/a> that the initiative will reduce unsafe medical practices and move toward greater gender equality. However, critics say that the legislation interferes with national laws and threatens traditional Christian values.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Expanded travel ban. <\/strong>The Trump administration <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-travel-ban-countries-immigration-visas-border-9dde0aecb3ffe418266700d9eefef937?user_email=2016b888ffc25d87b09281bfc53b3c0ad1c482678d9dfe2b23c01f6809852f4e&amp;utm_medium=APNews_Alerts&amp;utm_source=Sailthru_AP&amp;utm_campaign=NewsAlert_Dec16_2025_03:21PM&amp;utm_term=AP%20News%20Alerts\">announced<\/a> on Tuesday that it will expand travel restrictions to more than 20 countries and territories, beginning on Jan. 1, 2026. Five nations (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria) as well as people holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents now face full bans on travel to the United States. Another 15 countries (Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) are subject to new limits on U.S. entry.<\/p>\n<p>The move is part of a White House effort to <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/03\/us-immigration-crackdown-19-countries-asylum-green-card-travel-ban\/\">limit immigration<\/a> from what the administration considers \u201chigh-risk\u201d countries. Trump first announced a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/06\/05\/trump-travel-ban-countries-visas-china-xi-phone-call\/\">sweeping travel ban<\/a> in June, issuing full bans on 12 nations and partial bans on seven others. \u201cWe don\u2019t want them,\u201d Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WhiteHouse\/status\/1930412786271547485\">said<\/a> at the time, citing national security concerns. The administration has since said that Tuesday\u2019s additions target countries with \u201cwidespread corruption, fraudulent or unreliable civil documents, and criminal records.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, rights groups maintain that the expanded travel ban is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/immigration\/2025\/12\/16\/trump-travel-ban-expanded\/\">thinly veiled attempt<\/a> to discriminate against people from poorer, non-Western nations.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Odds and Ends<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Those interested in ancient Egypt can now witness another example of the era\u2019s incredible archaeological wonders. On Sunday, Egyptian officials <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/egypt-antiquities-pharoah-tourism-6f8337f96ab084b7854ca9ed13c214de\">unveiled<\/a> the restoration of two colossal statues depicting Amenhotep III, a prominent pharaoh who ruled around 3,400 years ago. Reassembling the so-called Colossi of Memnon, located in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor, took roughly two decades to complete and refurbishes a part of what experts believe is the largest and richest temple complex in Egypt.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/12\/17\/trump-us-blockade-venezuela-sanctioned-oil-tankers-maduro-regime-change\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at the United States\u2019 pressure campaign on Venezuela, charges against a suspect in Australia\u2019s Bondi Beach mass shooting, and abortion access across the European Union. Going After Oil U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a \u201ctotal and complete blockade\u201d on Tuesday of all sanctioned oil tankers carrying crude [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3321","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}