US President Donald Trump has declined to rule out the possibility of military action against Venezuela, fuelling speculation that Washington could be moving towards a direct confrontation with the South American nation and its president, Nicolas Maduro.
Speaking to NBC News on Friday, December 19, Trump was asked whether a full-scale conflict with Venezuela was a possibility. He responded: “I don’t rule it out, no.”
The comments come amid heightened tensions after the US president ordered a significant build-up of American naval forces in the Caribbean. The deployment followed the seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker by US forces and the blockade of other vessels linked to Caracas.
The latest escalation follows months of US strikes on boats in nearby waters that Washington says were involved in drug trafficking. Those operations have already led to dozens of deaths and drawn international scrutiny.
The White House has accused Maduro’s government of using what it describes as “stolen” oil to finance a regime it says operates as a dictatorship, while also allegedly enabling drug gangs to move narcotics into the United States.
Maduro has rejected the accusations, insisting that US actions are part of a broader plan to overthrow his government and seize control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
In the NBC interview, Trump declined to clarify whether he intends to remove Maduro from power, saying only: “He knows exactly what I want. He knows better than anybody.”
Trump also reiterated his warning that more Venezuelan oil tankers could be seized near the country’s waters.
“If they’re foolish enough to be sailing along, they’ll be sailing along back into one of our harbours,” he said.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, though its production has fallen sharply in recent years due to underinvestment, infrastructure decay and the impact of international sanctions.
Years of sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union and other countries, following the violent suppression of protests in the 2010s, have severely damaged Venezuela’s oil sector and broader economy.
As a result, Caracas now exports most of its crude oil to China, a development US officials view with concern given Washington’s strategic rivalry with Beijing.
Analysts say Trump may see Venezuela’s alignment with China and Russia as a geopolitical threat, especially given the country’s natural resource wealth.
“The idea that you have this country, with oil, and minerals, and rare earths in our hemisphere and its main allies being China and Russia, that’s something that doesn’t really fit into Trump’s view of the world,” said David Smilde, a Venezuela expert at Tulane University.
Venezuela, for its part, has struck a defiant tone, insisting that US threats and blockades will not derail its oil exports or force political change.
