Photo credit: Aljazeera
US President Donald Trump has ordered a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, in Washington’s latest move to increase pressure on Nicolás Maduro’s government, targeting its main source of income.
The National reports that it is unclear how the order will be imposed, and whether Mr Trump will turn to the US Coast Guard to intercept vessels as he did last week. The US has moved thousands of troops and nearly a dozen warships – including an aircraft carrier – to the region.
Caracas said it rejected Mr Trump’s “grotesque threat.”
Oil traders said prices were rising in anticipation of a potential reduction in Venezuelan exports, although they were still waiting to see how the blockade would be enforced and whether it would extend to include non-sanctioned vessels.
American presidents have broad discretion to deploy US forces abroad, but Mr Trump’s intended blockade marks a new test of presidential authority, international law scholar Elena Chachko of UC Berkeley Law School told Reuters.
Blockades have traditionally been treated as permissible, “instruments of war”, but only under strict conditions, Ms Chachko said. “There are serious questions on both the domestic law front and international law front.”
