00:00They took our oil rights.
00:02We had a lot of oil there.
00:03As you know, they threw our companies out,
00:05and we want it back.
00:25Tonight, the US-Venezuela standoff
00:28has entered a far more dangerous phase.
00:31For the first time since President Trump
00:33threatened a total and complete blockade
00:36of Venezuelan oil, Caracas has responded,
00:39not with words, but with warships.
00:41Venezuela's navy is now escorting oil tankers
00:44out of its ports,
00:45openly challenging the United States to stop them.
00:49This is no longer a theoretical crisis.
00:51This is a direct test of force.
00:54According to multiple reports,
00:56Venezuelan naval vessels began escorting ships
00:59carrying oil byproducts late Tuesday night
01:01into early Wednesday morning.
01:03The tankers departed from Puerto Jose,
01:06a key export hub on Venezuela's northeast coast.
01:09Ship tracking data confirms the movement,
01:11so do officials familiar with the situation.
01:14These ships weren't empty.
01:16They were carrying petroleum coke and urea,
01:19bound for Asian markets,
01:21a clear signal that Venezuela intends to keep exporting,
01:25sanctions or no sanctions.
01:27And crucially, these tankers were not sneaking out.
01:30They were escorted by the Venezuelan navy in full view.
01:34This appears to be Nicolas Maduro calling Trump's bluff.
01:38After Trump announced that any sanctioned tanker entering
01:41or leaving Venezuela could be blocked or seized,
01:44Maduro responded by asserting what he calls
01:47Venezuela's right to free navigation.
01:50In a statement, Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA
01:54said its ships are sailing with full security,
01:57technical support and operational guarantees.
02:00In other words, come stop us.
02:02Washington is watching closely.
02:05A U.S. official has confirmed that American authorities
02:08are fully aware of the escorts
02:10and are now considering multiple courses of action.
02:13But here's the key question.
02:15If a U.S. destroyer intercepts a Venezuelan tanker
02:18escorted by Venezuelan naval forces,
02:21what happens next?
02:23President Trump has framed the blockade
02:25as a necessary move against what he calls drug terrorism.
02:30He accuses Maduro's government of using oil revenues
02:33to fund cartels, human trafficking and organized crime.
02:37The U.S. has already backed that claim with force.
02:40Since September, American forces have carried out
02:43at least 25 known strikes against alleged narco-terrorist vessels
02:47in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, killing 95 people.
02:52And on December 10th, the standoff crossed a critical line.
02:56U.S. forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker
02:58off Venezuela's coast.
03:00Caracas called it international piracy.
03:03Now, instead of backing down, Maduro has escalated.
03:07In Caracas, the message is blunt.
03:09Maduro has condemned the blockade as a violation of international law
03:14and warned that Washington is risking a new Vietnam.
03:17He has also accused Trump of finally dropping the pretense,
03:21saying the mask is off and this is a war for oil.
03:24While Trump is doubling down,
03:26he continues to demand that Maduro step aside
03:29and has refused to rule out military force,
03:32even as U.S. naval deployments across the Caribbean
03:35reach levels not seen in decades.
03:38Aircraft carriers, missile destroyers, thousands of troops.
03:42This is no longer a symbolic pressure.
03:44It is physical presence.
03:46What makes this moment especially dangerous is miscalculation.
03:50If a Venezuelan escort ship confronts a U.S. warship,
03:54if warning shots are fired,
03:55if a tanker is seized under naval protection,
03:58the escalation ladder becomes very short, very fast.
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