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By Amanda Castro, Matthew Robinson, Brendan Cole, and John Feng
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Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro has said that President Donald Trump's threats against his nation are "simply a warmongering and colonialist pretense." Speaking in Caracas on Wednesday, he said that Trump's aim was regime change to impose a "puppet government that wouldn't last 47 hours," adding that it would "hand over the Constitution, sovereignty, and all the wealth, turning Venezuela into a colony." He insisted that this would "simply never happen."
It comes after Trump said on Tuesday that the U.S. military build-up around Venezuela would continue to grow until it returns the "oil, land, and other assets that they previously stole from us." He also imposed a "total and complete" blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. "The illegitimate Maduro regime is using oil from these stolen oil fields to finance themselves, drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder, and kidnapping," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
What To Know
- Maduro's remarks come a week after the U.S. seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, which signaled a sharp escalation in tensions between the two nations.
- As of last week, around 30 of the 80 ships in or approaching Venezuelan waters were under U.S. sanctions, according to data from TankerTrackers.com.
- The Maduro regime responded to the blockade on Tuesday, calling the move "utterly irrational" and alleging it was designed to steal "the wealth that belongs to our nation."
- It follows weeks of U.S. military strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats in international waters, and a major military build-up in the region.
- The U.S. Southern Command announced a new lethal military strike on Wednesday targeting an alleged narco-trafficking vessel in the Eastern Pacific.
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Dec 18, 2025 at 10:40 AM EST
Venezuela defies U.S. blockade with naval escorts for tankers
Venezuela’s navy has escorted several commercial tankers bound for Asia, openly challenging a U.S. military blockade aimed at crippling the country’s oil industry.
According to The New York Times, three vessels carrying urea, petroleum coke, and other oil-based products departed on Tuesday and Wednesday under direct orders from President Nicolás Maduro to sail with naval protection.
A U.S. official confirmed Washington is aware of the escorts and is weighing possible responses. The ships were not listed among sanctioned tankers flagged by the Treasury Department as subject to attack, the publication reported.
State-owned oil company PDVSA said the vessels were operating “with full security, technical support and operational guarantees in legitimate exercise of their right to free navigation.”
Dec 18, 2025 at 10:26 AM EST
Inflation rises as U.S. economy shows signs of slowing
Inflation rose 0.2 percent in November and 2.7 percent over the past year, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report, contradicting President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that prices are falling.
The uptick comes as other indicators point to a cooling economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employers added just 64,000 jobs in November, while the unemployment rate edged higher.
Dec 18, 2025 at 10:11 AM EST
Taiwan welcomes U.S. arms sale amid rising tensions with China
Taiwan’s defense ministry on Wednesday thanked the Trump administration for approving a record arms package, saying the deal would help the island “rapidly build robust deterrence capabilities.”
The announcement comes as Taiwan faces mounting pressure from China, which claims the self-governed democracy as its territory and has not ruled out using force to achieve reunification.
The United States formally recognizes Beijing, not Taipei, a policy dating back to 1949 when Chinese nationalists fled to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the communists. Since then, Taiwan has developed into a thriving democracy and technology hub.
Under U.S. law, Washington is obligated to provide Taiwan with weapons for self-defense. However, it has remained deliberately ambiguous about whether American forces would intervene in the event of a Chinese attack.
Dec 18, 2025 at 09:55 AM EST
U.S. announces record $11 billion arms sale to Taiwan
The Trump administration unveiled plans Wednesday for an $11 billion arms package to Taiwan, a deal that would mark the largest U.S. weapons sale to the island if approved by Congress. The package surpasses the $8.4 billion in arms sales authorized during the Biden administration.
The State Department said the agreements advance “U.S. national, economic, and security interests” by helping Taiwan modernize its military and maintain a credible defense.
According to reporting from the Associated Press, the package includes 82 HIMARS rocket systems and 420 ATACMs missiles, valued at more than $4 billion, along with 60 self-propelled howitzers and related equipment worth another $4 billion. Drones, military software, helicopter spare parts, and refurbishment kits for Harpoon missiles round out the deal, bringing the total to $11 billion.
Dec 18, 2025 at 09:39 AM EST
If you’re just catching up: Trump orders blockade on Venezuela’s oil tankers
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he is ordering a “total and complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, escalating pressure on Nicolás Maduro’s government.
The move follows last week’s U.S. seizure of a tanker off Venezuela’s coast and comes amid the most significant American military buildup in the region in decades. Trump claimed Venezuela is using oil revenues to fund drug trafficking and crime, vowing to expand the naval presence until Caracas hands over “oil, land, and assets,” he says, that were stolen from the United States.
Venezuela’s government quickly denounced the blockade as a violation of international law and free navigation, pledging to raise the issue at the United Nations. The U.S. campaign has already included at least 25 strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing nearly 100 people, and Trump has signaled operations could soon extend to land targets.
Critics argue the campaign stretches legal boundaries and is aimed at regime change. Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles appeared to confirm that in a recent interview, saying the president intends to keep striking until Maduro “cries uncle.”
Venezuela, home to the world’s largest proven oil reserves, has relied on shadow fleets to move crude since U.S. sanctions barred the state oil company PDVSA from global markets in 2017. Most exports now go to China, with smaller volumes reaching Cuba and the U.S. through Chevron.
The Pentagon has referred questions about Trump’s announcement to the White House, leaving unclear how the blockade will be enforced or whether the administration intends to classify Venezuela’s government as a terrorist organization formally.
Dec 18, 2025 at 09:25 AM EST
Russia warns U.S. against ‘fatal’ mistake in Venezuela dispute
The Russian Foreign Ministry urged caution Wednesday, warning the Trump administration against escalating its confrontation with Venezuela. In a statement, Moscow said unilateral U.S. actions posed a threat to international shipping and risked destabilizing the Western Hemisphere.
“We note continuous and deliberate attempts to escalate tensions with our ally Venezuela,” the ministry said, adding that Washington should “stop short of making a fatal mistake” and avoid unpredictable consequences.
Russia emphasized its push for dialogue between Washington and Caracas, calling for solutions that respect international law and preserve Latin America and the Caribbean as a “zone of peace.” The ministry also reaffirmed its solidarity with the Venezuelan people and support for President Nicolás Maduro’s government in defending national sovereignty.
Dec 18, 2025 at 09:08 AM EST
Trump announces $1,776 ‘warrior dividend’ for U.S. troops
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that U.S. service members will receive checks for $1,776 before Christmas, describing the payment as a “warrior dividend” funded in part by his tariffs.
In a televised address, Trump said 1.45 million military personnel would benefit from the payout, which he framed as a symbolic nod to the nation’s founding in 1776. “The checks are already on the way,” he declared.
While Trump credited tariff revenues for helping finance the initiative, he did not provide full details on how the program would be funded. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth separately directed the Pentagon to issue $2.6 billion as a one-time housing allowance supplement for service members in pay grades O-6 and below, according to a senior official.
Dec 18, 2025 at 08:52 AM EST
WATCH: Venezuela’s Maduro blasts Trump’s ‘warmongering’
Dec 18, 2025 at 08:38 AM EST
Chevron’s waivers keep U.S. oil flowing from Venezuela
Foreign oil companies are barred from owning fields outright in Venezuela, but Chevron maintains operations through a joint venture with state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). The arrangement, which requires Chevron to pay PDVSA a share of its output, accounts for roughly one-fifth of Venezuela’s official oil production.
The setup allows PDVSA to generate revenue without selling directly to U.S. buyers, a transaction restricted under sanctions. To bypass those limits, Chevron was granted a special license by President Joe Biden in 2022, with the Trump administration extending another waiver this year.
Chevron has since boosted shipments from 128,000 barrels per day in October to 150,000 barrels per day last month. The company has operated in Venezuela for decades and holds billions of dollars in assets, including fields, facilities and infrastructure. A withdrawal would risk permanent loss of those holdings, as Caracas has a history of seizing private property.
Both Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro oversaw sweeping nationalizations, taking control of hundreds of companies and parts of foreign firms such as Exxon, Cargill and Hilton. Chevron’s continued presence reflects both the risks and rewards of operating in one of the world’s most resource-rich but politically volatile oil markets.
Dec 18, 2025 at 08:23 AM EST
U.S. sanctions on Venezuela oil reshape global trade and block American access
The United States first moved against Venezuela’s oil sector in 2005, imposing sanctions in response to the nationalization of foreign-owned assets. Those measures barred named individuals and companies from accessing property or financial holdings in the U.S., while penalizing American firms that engaged with sanctioned entities. The restrictions also extended to any company majority-owned by blocked individuals, even if not explicitly listed.
Sanctions intensified under President Nicolás Maduro, with new rounds in 2017 and 2019 further limiting Venezuela’s ability to sell crude to the U.S. and access international finance. As a result, exports to the American market collapsed, forcing Caracas to redirect shipments primarily to China, with smaller volumes reaching India and Cuba.
The Trump administration tightened the pressure again last week, targeting members of Maduro’s family and Venezuelan tankers carrying sanctioned oil. Today, state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) controls the industry, while U.S. involvement has dwindled to a single operator: Houston-based Chevron.
Trump has repeatedly signaled his ambition for Washington to reclaim influence over Venezuela’s oil, framing the resource as central to U.S. strategic interests.
Dec 18, 2025 at 08:09 AM EST
How Venezuela’s oil industry shifted from U.S. investment to state control
U.S. companies first began drilling for oil in Venezuela in the early 1900s, laying the foundation for what would become one of the world’s most resource-rich nations. In 1922, Royal Dutch Shell uncovered vast petroleum reserves in Lake Maracaibo, Zulia state, sparking a surge of foreign investment. Standard Oil and other U.S. firms quickly expanded operations under concession agreements, positioning Venezuela as a critical supplier to the United States.
Venezuela’s global influence grew further when it became a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1960, joining efforts to regulate supply and stabilize prices. But the country’s trajectory shifted in 1976, when President Carlos Andrés Pérez nationalized the oil industry and created state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
For decades, Venezuela remained a top exporter to the U.S., shipping between 1.5 and 2 million barrels per day in the late 1990s and early 2000s. That changed under Hugo Chávez, who took office in 1998. Chávez nationalized all oil assets, seized foreign holdings, and restructured PDVSA to serve political priorities. Production steadily declined as mismanagement and underinvestment eroded the industry, leaving Venezuela unable to fully capitalize on its vast reserves.
Dec 18, 2025 at 07:53 AM EST
What do Venezuela’s oil reserves look like?
Venezuela’s oil wealth remains concentrated in the Orinoco Belt, a sprawling region in the country's east covering about 55,000 square kilometres (21,235 square miles). The belt anchors the nation’s position as holder of the world’s largest proven reserves, estimated at 303 billion barrels in 2023.
Despite this immense resource base, Venezuela’s crude exports have dwindled. Data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity show the country shipped just $4.05 billion worth of crude oil last year. That figure pales in comparison to other global producers: Saudi Arabia earned $181 billion, the United States $125 billion, and Russia $122 billion from crude exports in 2023.
Dec 18, 2025 at 07:38 AM EST
What exactly did Stephen Miller say about Venezuela?
Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller intensified the Trump administration’s confrontation with Venezuela on Wednesday, saying that the country’s oil industry was built by “American sweat, ingenuity and toil” before being “tyrannically expropriated” in what he called the largest theft of U.S. wealth and property.
Miller alleged that Venezuela’s assets have been used to finance terrorism and fuel crime in the United States, echoing President Donald Trump’s remarks a day earlier. On Tuesday, Trump posted on Truth Social, accusing Caracas of “stealing” U.S. oil, land, and other resources, and using them to support human trafficking and organized crime.
Trump went further, designating Venezuela’s government a “foreign terrorist organization” and ordering a total blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving the country. He also vowed that migrants sent by Venezuela would be deported swiftly and demanded the immediate return of what he described as “stolen assets.”
Dec 18, 2025 at 07:23 AM EST
Miller says Venezuela’s oil ‘belongs to Washington’ amid escalating U.S. blockade
United States Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller sparked debate Wednesday after declaring that Venezuela’s oil “belongs to Washington."
His comments followed President Donald Trump’s announcement on social media of a “total and complete blockade” targeting sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. The move expands Washington’s economic pressure campaign against President Nicolás Maduro’s government.
The U.S. has deployed its most significant military presence in the Caribbean in decades, stationing forces off Venezuela’s coast. Since September, American strikes on vessels alleged to be involved in drug trafficking have killed about 90 people. Yet the administration has not presented evidence to substantiate those claims, fueling criticism that the campaign is less about narcotics and more about securing control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves and advancing regime change.
Dec 18, 2025 at 06:38 AM EST
Trump’s Blockade of Venezuela Ships Won’t Disrupt Global Oil Supply: Analyst
President Donald Trump's order to blockade sanctioned oil tankers to and from Venezuela is unlikely to hurt global supply of the commodity, an energy analyst has told Newsweek.
There had been concerns over the impact on global crude flow from Trump’s order against a key heavy-oil producer.
But Nikos Tzabouras, Senior Market Analyst at Tradu told Newsweek on Thursday that while a prolonged blockade could have material implications, Venezuela’s exports were relatively small in the context of global supply, and the market remains well supplied. “On its own, Venezuelan disruption is unlikely to materially tighten the global oil market,” said Tzabouras.
"At the same time, prospects of a Ukraine peace agreement could unlock Russian oil and exacerbate oversupply risks,” he added. “On the demand side, a run of weaker Chinese economic data and persistent global headwinds from tariffs continue to weigh on consumption, suggesting that any price recovery is likely to remain fragile."
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Dec 18, 2025 at 05:55 AM EST
Russia Says Venezuela Is Its Ally As It Calls for Restraint
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has called for all countries in the Latin American region “to exercise restraint” as he said that the government of Caracas was an ally of Moscow.
In comments on Thursday, Peskov told reporters about concerns regarding tensions around Venezuela, a country he said was Moscow’s ally and partner.
"We call on all countries in the region to exercise restraint in order to avoid any unpredictable development of the situation," said Peskov, according to state news agency TASS.
Dec 18, 2025 at 05:15 AM EST
U.S. Forces Mass on Venezuela’s Doorstep
Over a dozen U.S. Navy warships including an aircraft carrier strike group are gathered in Caribbean waters as part of a major pressure campaign against Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who is going after South American drug cartels and Caracas’ illicit oil revenue, has hinted that land strikes in Venezuela may follow.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the history of South America,” Trump said earlier this week.
Trump’s end game in Venezuela remains unclear. He has reportedly rejected Maduro’s offer to let U.S. companies invest in Venezuela’s lucrative energy sector. Trump seems to want Maduro out of the picture altogether.
The U.S. Southern Command, which is overseeing the Pentagon’s Southern Spear mission, has operational control over the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its escorts, as well as dozens of fighter jets, reconnaissance aircraft and gunships spread around the Caribbean.
On its own, the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, comprising three landing ships, has more than 4,500 Navy sailors and Marines embarked. And at least five destroyers known to be in nearby waters are each armed with dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles.
The firepower may be overkill and appears to be an intentional muscle flex, but Maduro cannot count on Trump not to use force.
Dec 18, 2025 at 04:38 AM EST
U.S. Military Strikes Send Signal to Maduro
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has ordered another lethal airstrike in international waters on a small vessel allegedly running drugs to the United States, the U.S. Southern Command said in a statement on Wednesday.
An accompanying video published on X showed the moment of the blast, which SOUTHCOM said killed “four male narco-terrorists” in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, in what was the 26th such incident since the Trump administration’s counternarcotics operation began in early September.
In all, 98 people have been killed, according to the civilian harm watchdog Airwars, with just under half the strikes happening in the Caribbean Sea and the remainder in the Eastern Pacific.
The U.S. designations of Venezuelan and Colombian cartels as terrorist organizations is being used as legal cover for the strikes. While that remains a point of contention among Americans, what is no longer in doubt—especially for Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro—is Trump’s willingness to use military force to achieves his policy aims.
Read Newsweek’s recent coverage: Four Dead in New U.S. Drug Boat Strike Ordered by Hegseth
Dec 18, 2025 at 04:16 AM EST
China Breaks Silence on Trump’s Venezuela Blockade
The Chinese government has issued its first public response some 24 hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a naval blockade against Venezuela, aimed at disrupting Caracas’ profits from sanctioned oil.
“China opposes all forms of unilateral bullying and supports all countries in safeguarding their sovereignty and national dignity,” Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told reporters at a regular press conference in Beijing on Thursday.
“Venezuela has the right to independently develop mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries. China believes the international community understands and supports Venezuela's position in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests,” he said.
Guo said Beijing backs Caracas’ request to convene an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss the U.S. blockade. However, China has yet to make a public commitment on aid or other material support for its longtime partner Venezuela.
Read in full: Trump’s Venezuela Blockade Forces China to Choose
Dec 18, 2025 at 03:41 AM EST
Congress, Not Trump, Should Authorize Venezuela Action Says Sen. Kelly
Arizona senator Mark Kelly, a Democrat, has said that Congress not the U.S. president should authorize military action into Venezuela.
Kelly has repeatedly questioned Trump’s handling of U.S. military activity around Venezuela, questioning its legality and accused the president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of escalating tensions without clear justification.
In an interview with CNN, Kelly said Trump’s threats for land strikes against Venezuela needed congressional backing, as did attacks on boats that the Trump administration has said are linked to the drugs trade, an accusation that Kelly rejected.
“This isn’t about drugs coming into the United States, so what is it? Is it regime change?” said Kelly ,” Some people say it’s about access to oil. I think the president needs to be very clear.”
Kelly said that the Trump administration has “tied themselves in knots” over the reasons for the strikes, which range from drug trafficking, the transport of sanctioned oil, tackling immigrants or getting rid of President Nicolas Maduro.
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