Dec. 16 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered "a total and complete blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers going to or from Venezuela, raising already high tensions between Washington and Caracas by targeting the South American nation's largest revenue source.
Trump has sought to oust Venezuela's authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro, since his first term and has ratcheted up the pressure on the socialist leader after returning to the White House in January.
He has accused Maduro of sending an invasion of criminals to the United States and of being the leader of a narcotics trafficking organization, allegations that U.S. intelligence agencies have not publicly supported.
An armada of U.S. naval vessels has been deployed to waters near Venezuela, and the U.S. military has launched deadly strikes on boats in the region that the Trump administration alleges are trafficking drugs to the United States, drawing domestic and international condemnation.
"Today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela," Trump announced in a statement on his Truth Social media platform.
