Trump said US armada ‘will only get bigger’ until Venezuela returns ‘all of the oil, land, and other assets that they previously stole from us’ – key US politics stories from 16 December 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered "a total and complete" blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.

It comes a week after the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela and as the Trump administration increases pressure on the country's government.