Maduro fires back at Trump over USA's oil tanker blockade order; ‘Want to impose puppet govt…’

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro condemned what he called US “warmongering” and “colonialist” claims after Donald Trump announced a total blockade on sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. Maduro rejected Trump’s assertion that Venezuela had illegally taken US oil and resources, accusing Washington of seeking regime change and attempting to turn the country into a colony. He said Venezuela would never surrender its sovereignty and revealed he had spoken with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to denounce what he described as US threats and aggression. Trump defended the blockade as an enforcement measure, while China criticised the move as bullying, underscoring rising international tensions over Venezuela’s energy exports.