A U.S. oil blockade on Venezuela could ‘devastate’ its economy and further pressure Maduro. But how far is Trump willing to take it?

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion with top business leaders in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on December 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. During the roundtable, Trump addressed questions on the Federal Reserve’s latest decision to cut interest rates and reports that the U.S. seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, among other topics. (Credit: Alex Wong—Getty Images)

Now that the U.S. has seized a Venezuelan oil tanker and President Donald Trump has declared an oil blockade, the results could “devastate” Venezuela’s struggling economy and put further pressure on President Nicolás Maduro and possible regime change, according to geopolitical and energy analysts.

The big question is how far the U.S. will take the sanctioned oil tanker blockade—Trump’s social media announcement was scant on details—and for how long, because it is unlikely Maduro would willingly step down in the near future, said Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin America Energy Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.