President Donald Trump delivered a new warning to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday, while the U.S. Coast Guard intensified its pursuit of oil tankers in the Caribbean Sea. The move is part of the Republican administration’s four-month campaign to curb drug trafficking from Venezuela, which has broadened into a broader diplomatic confrontation.
Trump’s Warning and Escalation
Trump stood beside top national-security aides, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, during the brief stop in West Palm Beach, Fla. He said the administration is ready to further intensify its pressure on Maduro’s government. “If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’ll ever be able to play tough,” Trump told reporters. He also announced plans for the Navy to build a new, large warship.
The president’s remarks followed a recent demand that Venezuela return assets seized from U.S. oil companies years ago. Trump has repeatedly stated that Maduro’s days in power are numbered and has called for a blockade of Venezuela.
Coast Guard Interdictions
On Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard continued a second-day chase of a sanctioned oil tanker described by the Trump administration as part of a “dark fleet” that Venezuela uses to evade sanctions. The tanker is flying a false flag and is under a U.S. judicial seizure order. “It’s moving along and we’ll end up getting it,” Trump said.
This pursuit marks the third tanker the Coast Guard has targeted. On Saturday, the agency seized a Panama-flagged vessel named Centuries, which officials said was part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet. Earlier, on Dec. 10, the Coast Guard and Navy seized another sanctioned tanker, Skipper, also registered in Panama and part of the same shadow fleet that moves sanctioned cargo on the fringes of the law.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared on “Fox & Friends” on Monday and explained that the targeting of tankers is intended to send “a message around the world that the illegal activity that Maduro is participating in cannot stand, he needs to be gone, and that we will stand up for our people.”
Russian Diplomatic Evacuations
Amid the escalating U.S. pressure, Russia’s Foreign Ministry began evacuating families of diplomats from Venezuela. A European intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the evacuations, which include women and children, started on Friday. Officials are assessing the situation in Venezuela in “very grim tones.” The ministry posted on X that it was not evacuating the embassy, but did not address whether families were being moved.
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yván Gil said on Monday that he spoke by phone with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Gil reported that Lavrov expressed Russia’s support for Venezuela against Trump’s declared blockade of sanctioned oil tankers. Gil added: “We reviewed the aggressions and flagrant violations of international law that have been committed in the Caribbean: attacks against vessels and extrajudicial executions, and the unlawful acts of piracy carried out by the United States government.”
Venezuelan Domestic Response
While U.S. forces targeted vessels in international waters over the weekend, a tanker from the shadow fleet was spotted moving between Venezuelan refineries, including one about three hours west of Caracas. The tanker remained at the refinery in El Palito through Sunday, where families relaxed on the beach with children on school break.
Music played on loudspeakers as people swam and surfed with the tanker in the background. Manuel Salazar, who has parked cars at the beach for more than three decades, noted changes from years past. “Up to nine or 10 tankers would wait out there in the bay. One would leave, another would come in,” he said. “Now, look, one.”
The tanker at El Palito has been identified by Transparencia Venezuela, an independent watchdog, as part of the shadow fleet. Residents recalled that on New Year’s Eve tankers would sound horns and sometimes fire fireworks. Salazar said, “Before, during vacations, they’d have barbecues; now all you see is bread with bologna. Things are expensive. Food prices keep going up and up every day.”
Legal and Humanitarian Implications
Venezuela’s ruling party-controlled National Assembly gave initial approval to a measure that would criminalize a broad range of activities linked to the seizure of oil tankers. Lawmaker Giuseppe Alessandrello introduced the bill, stating that people could be fined and imprisoned for up to 20 years for promoting, requesting, supporting, financing or participating in “acts of piracy, blockades or other international illegal acts against” commercial entities operating with the South American country.
Under Trump’s orders, the Defense Department continues a campaign of attacks on smaller vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean, which it alleges are carrying drugs to the United States and beyond. At least 105 people have been killed in 29 known strikes since early September. The strikes have faced scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and human-rights activists, who say the administration has offered scant evidence that its targets are drug smugglers and that the fatal strikes amount to extrajudicial killings.
Key Takeaways
- President Trump warns Venezuela and signals readiness to intensify pressure, including a potential blockade.
- The U.S. Coast Guard has pursued three sanctioned tankers, seizing Centuries and Skipper and continuing to chase another under a judicial seizure order.
- Russia is evacuating families of diplomats from Venezuela amid growing tensions.
- Venezuelan domestic authorities are passing laws to criminalize support for tanker seizures, while local communities report economic hardship.
Garcia Cano reported from El Palito, Venezuela, and Burrows reported from London.
The escalating U.S. actions, Russian diplomatic responses, and Venezuela’s legal measures underscore a sharpening geopolitical conflict that could have lasting regional implications.
