By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump convened senior national security officials Monday as tensions escalated between the United States and Venezuela, with the administration expanding efforts to interdict oil tankers in the Caribbean as part of a broader pressure campaign against President Nicolás Maduro’s government.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Navy Secretary John Phelan were scheduled to join Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for what the White House described as a meeting tied to a forthcoming “major announcement.” The gathering came amid heightened U.S. naval and coast guard activity targeting what officials describe as Venezuela’s illicit oil trade.
According to individuals familiar with the matter, Trump is expected to announce plans to construct a new, large warship that he has described as a “battleship,” part of a broader initiative he has dubbed the “Golden Fleet,” envisioned to include dozens of support vessels. Those individuals were not authorized to comment publicly.
Beyond the shipbuilding announcement, the meeting underscored the administration’s evolving approach toward Venezuela. What began four months ago as an effort framed around curbing narcotics trafficking has expanded into a wider confrontation with Maduro’s government, including aggressive enforcement actions against oil shipments and public statements signaling an intent to force political change in Caracas.
Adding to the uncertainty, Russia has begun evacuating the families of its diplomats from Venezuela, according to a European intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information. The evacuations reportedly began Friday and include women and children. The official said Russian Foreign Ministry assessments of the situation in Venezuela have been conveyed in “very grim tones.” Neither the White House nor the Kremlin responded to requests for comment.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said Monday that he spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who he said reaffirmed Moscow’s support for Venezuela in response to what Caracas characterizes as a U.S. blockade of sanctioned oil tankers. Gil accused Washington of “aggressions and flagrant violations of international law,” including attacks on vessels and what he described as extrajudicial actions in the Caribbean.
Signs of diplomatic unease were visible in Caracas, where more than 10 vehicles bearing diplomatic license plates were parked outside Russia’s embassy Monday morning. No people were seen entering or exiting the compound, and the vehicles had departed by early afternoon.
In the Caribbean, the U.S. Coast Guard continued for a second day to pursue a sanctioned oil tanker that the administration says is part of a Venezuelan “dark fleet” used to evade U.S. sanctions. A U.S. official said the tanker was operating under a false flag and is subject to a judicial seizure order. It is the third tanker targeted in recent days.
On Saturday, U.S. authorities seized the Panama-flagged tanker Centuries, which officials said had recently carried Venezuelan oil. Earlier this month, the Coast Guard, with Navy support, seized another tanker, Skipper, which was also registered in Panama and described by U.S. officials as part of the same shadow fleet. Following that seizure, Trump publicly declared that the United States would carry out a “blockade” of Venezuela.
Trump has repeatedly asserted that Maduro’s hold on power is weakening. Last week, he demanded the return of assets seized years ago from U.S. oil companies operating in Venezuela, citing those actions as further justification for tightening restrictions on oil shipments.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees the Coast Guard, said in a Monday television appearance that the interdictions are intended to send a global message that Venezuela’s alleged illicit activities “cannot stand” and that Maduro “needs to be gone.”
While U.S. forces have focused on vessels in international waters, at least one tanker identified by Venezuelan watchdog group Transparencia Venezuela as part of the shadow fleet was observed operating between domestic refineries, including El Palito, roughly three hours west of Caracas. The tanker remained at the refinery through Sunday as families gathered on nearby beaches to mark the holiday season.
Residents said the scene contrasted sharply with previous years, when Venezuela’s oil industry was producing far more than its current output of roughly 1 million barrels per day. Manuel Salazar, who has parked cars near the beach for more than 30 years, recalled when multiple tankers would queue in the bay and celebrate New Year’s Eve with horns and fireworks.
“Up to nine or 10 tankers would wait out there in the bay. One would leave, another would come in,” Salazar said. “Now, look, one.”
Salazar said rising food prices and economic hardship have reshaped daily life for Venezuelan families. “Before, during vacations, they’d have barbecues; now all you see is bread with bologna,” he said.
At the same time, the War Department continues operations against smaller vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that U.S. officials allege are involved in drug trafficking. Since early September, at least 104 people have been killed in 28 known strikes, according to tallies cited by critics.
Those operations have drawn scrutiny from some lawmakers and human rights advocates, who argue the administration has provided limited public evidence that the targeted vessels were engaged in narcotics trafficking and have raised concerns that the strikes amount to extrajudicial killings.
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