Trump's Gunboat Diplomacy Triggers Sharp Drop In Venezuelan Oil Output
President Trump’s gunboat diplomacy in the Caribbean, designed to disrupt and dismantle Venezuelan oil flows to Asia in order to choke off the Maduro regime’s primary revenue stream and induce regime instability in Caracas, is now moving full steam ahead, as confirmed by the latest crude oil export data.
Bloomberg cites new internal data from Petróleos de Venezuela showing that oil production in the Orinoco Belt (which accounts for nearly two-thirds of Venezuela’s oil output) plunged by about 498,000 barrels per day on Monday, down roughly 25% over the past two weeks.
In recent weeks, Trump's gunboat diplomacy has ramped up with multiple seizures of dark fleet tankers, offshore blockades, and sanctions against additional tankers that haul Venezuelan crude to China. The aim is to suppress Maduro's cash flows, since more than 95% of the country’s revenue depends on oil sales.
"While military options still exist, the focus is to first use economic pressure by enforcing sanctions to reach the outcome the White House is looking (for)," a U.S. official told Reuters last week, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Trump administration is enforcing a two-month "quarantine" of Venezuelan oil, which may indicate the time needed to create immense financial pressure on Maduro and could lead to regime instability. If Caracas falls, Cuba would likely follow quickly.
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China condemned Trump’s gunboat diplomacy in the Caribbean as illegal “unilateral bullying.” In response, Beijing aired a simulated war scenario on state television set in the Caribbean region.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 01/02/2026 – 04:35