U.S. President Donald Trump said he has not ruled out the use of military force against Venezuela.
In a phone interview with NBC News on Thursday, Trump warned: "I don't rule it out, no," when asked if escalating U.S. operations could lead to war.
Trump hinted at additional seizures of sanctioned oil tankers and remained cryptic about his ultimate goals for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, saying only: "He knows exactly what I want."
The comments come amid a sharp escalation in U.S. pressure on Maduro's government, including the seizure of one large oil tanker earlier this month and Trump's order this week for a "total and complete blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.
To date, US forces have seized one Venezuelan-related oil tanker, the Skipper, which was carrying approximately 1.8-2 million barrels of heavy crude.
The operation, conducted on Dec. 10 in the Caribbean Sea, involved armed personnel rappelling from helicopters onto the vessel.
The tanker, previously sanctioned for links to illicit oil networks involving Iran and Venezuela, was redirected to a U.S. port.
Trump announced the blockade on Truth Social, declaring Venezuela "completely surrounded by the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America."
He designated the Maduro regime a foreign terrorist organization, citing alleged financing of drug trafficking, human trafficking, and theft of US assets, and demanded the return of Venezuelan oil, land, and other resources to the United States.
The moves have disrupted Venezuelan oil exports, with many loaded tankers remaining in port to avoid seizure.
Analysts estimate the blockade targets around 300,000 barrels per day of Venezuela's roughly 900,000 barrels daily exports, contributing to a modest rise in global oil prices-Brent crude climbed over 1% to around $60 per barrel this week amid supply disruption concerns.
Venezuela has strongly condemned the actions as "international piracy" and "blatant theft," sending a formal letter to the U.N. Security Council, denouncing the tanker seizure and calling for condemnation.
During his 2024 campaign, Trump positioned himself as a candidate who ends wars rather than starts them, appealing to Republican voters wary of foreign entanglements and interventionism-a key sentiment among the party's base since the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
However, his second-term actions against Venezuela mark a significant escalation, framing the campaign primarily as a counter-narcotics effort to stop alleged drug flows into the U.S., while also emphasizing economic pressure on Maduro's oil-dependent regime.
The US has built up a massive naval presence in the region, including aircraft carriers and over a dozen warships, supporting operations that have included deadly strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels.
Critics, including some Democrats and a few Republicans, have raised concerns that the measures risk drawing the U.S. into an unauthorized conflict, with oil prices showing initial volatility as markets assess potential broader supply impacts.
