Trump Demands Venezuela Return Seized US Oil Assets After Ordering Tanker Blockade

President Donald Trump walks toward reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn at the White House on Dec. 13, 2025. Tom Brenner/Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump said on Dec. 17 that Venezuela must return oil, land, and other assets it seized from U.S. companies years ago, suggesting that the uncompensated expropriations are one of the reasons behind his administration’s newly announced blockade of sanctioned oil tankers traveling to or from the South American country.Trump’s remarks came a day after he ordered a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers off Venezuela’s coast as part of a broader pressure campaign against socialist Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s regime, which has been designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization.