Venezuela on Tuesday condemned a US decision to impose a "total blockade" on oil tankers, calling the move a violation of international law.
In an official statement, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez accused Trump of issuing "reckless and serious threats" that infringe upon the principles of free trade and freedom of navigation.
The statement comes after US President Donald Trump on Monday announced that he had ordered a "total and complete blockade" of sanctioned vessels entering or leaving the South American country, which has face buildup of US forces off its northern coast to the Caribbean Sea.
Caracas called the move "grotesque," accusing Trump attempting to seize the nation's natural resources. The government statement alleged that Trump "assumes that Venezuela's oil, land, and mineral wealth are his property."
In a post on his US social media company Truth Social, Trump claimed Venezuela was "completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the history of South America."
He warned that the pressure would intensify until Caracas returns "all of the oil, land, and other assets that they previously stole from us," in a possible reference to the nationalization of US assets in previous decades.
The exchange marks the latest peak in a months-long pressure campaign on Venezuela by the US.
Over the past four months, US forces have maintained a significant and growing military presence in the Caribbean, carrying out strikes against vessels suspected of drug trafficking. Trump has also said that the US military could soon conduct land strikes on Venezuelan soil.
The standoff escalated further when US forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the Venezuelan coast on Dec. 10, an act Caracas branded "international piracy."
Washington maintains that its actions are necessary to dismantle what it calls "illicit oil shipping networks" that fund "foreign terrorist organizations."
