The White House has directed U.S. military forces to concentrate almost exclusively on interdicting Venezuelan oil for at least the next two months.
Officials said the move aims to exert economic pressure on Caracas, even as military options remain on the table.
A U.S. official told Reuters that while military measures remain possible, the current strategy is to leverage sanctions and economic tools to compel Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to make concessions.
“While military options still exist, the focus is to first use economic pressure by enforcing sanctions to reach the outcome the White House is looking for,” the official said on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump has privately urged Maduro to step down, warning that Venezuela could face an “economic calamity” by late January if the government does not comply with U.S. demands.
Interdiction of Venezuelan oil
So far, the U.S. Coast Guard has intercepted two tankers carrying Venezuelan crude, and a third seizure—against the empty sanctioned vessel Bella-1—was planned pending additional resources.
The White House official did not provide details on what “almost exclusively” focusing on oil interdiction entails, leaving questions about how the military will balance this mission with other global operations.
The Pentagon has deployed over 15,000 troops to the Caribbean, including an aircraft carrier, 11 warships, and more than a dozen F-35 jets. While many assets can support sanctions enforcement, some, like fighter jets, are less suited for maritime interdiction.
Earlier this month, the White House referred to the effort as a “quarantine” of Venezuelan oil—a term echoing the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, chosen to avoid the more aggressive connotations of a blockade.
Venezuela responds
Venezuelan U.N. Ambassador Samuel Moncada condemned the U.S. actions, saying, “The threat is not Venezuela. The threat is the U.S. government.”
U.N. experts have also criticized the oil interdiction measures, describing them as illegal use of force and a potential violation of international law.
