Why sanctions failed to halt flow of oil from Venezuela

The US seizure of a tanker last week was condemned by the Maduro government as an 'act of international piracy'. What is motivating Trump, and will he succeed?

- Alex Croft reports

Donald Trump has ordered a “total and complete” blockade of sanctioned oil tankers from Venezuela as part of an ongoing pressure campaign against president Nicolas Maduro’s government.

Hundreds of US troops and ships have been stationed near the Venezuelan coastline, where US forces last week seized an oil tanker in the latest attempt to inflict economic damage on Caracas.

In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump boasted that Venezuela was “completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America”, warning that “it will only get bigger”.

He demanded that Venezuela “return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us”. Caracas described Trump’s announcement as a “grotesque threat”.

How big are Venezuela’s oil reserves?

Venezuela has control over the largest known oil reserve in the world, producing around 1 million barrels a day. Its oil reserves are found primarily in the Orinoco Belt, a region in the country’s east that covers around 55,000 sq km. The country’s proven reserves are estimated at more than 303 billion barrels, which is the largest reserve worldwide - trumping Saudi Arabia’s 297.7 billion barrels.

Venezuela’s crude oil reserve is six times larger than that of the US, which, as of 2023, had 46 billion barrels. In 2009, the United States Geological Survey estimated that the Orinoco Belt alone contained 900 to 1,400 billion barrels. Of this, it said that between 380 and 652 billion barrels were recoverable.