Trump news at a glance: president ratchets up pressure on Maduro with oil tanker blockade

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

Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a naval blockade of sanctioned oil vessels" leaving and heading to Venezuela, sharply escalating his pressure campaign against Caracas.

The US has for months been building a major military deployment in the Caribbean - with the stated goal of combatting drug trafficking, but Venezuela views the operation as a campaign to oust Nicolas Maduro.