Trump Says He Is Not Ruling Out War With Venezuela: 'Maduro Knows What I Want'

Last Updated:December 20, 2025, 08:39 IST

Trump's admission of not ruling out a war with Venezuela is significant, as the 79-year-old Republican president had campaigned in 2024 to keep the US out of foreign conflicts.

US President Donald Trump. (IMAGE: AP PHOTO)

US President Donald Trump said he was leaving the possibility of a full-fledged war with Venezuela on the table as tensions skyrocketed following his decision to impose a blockade of what he described as “sanctioned oil vessels" travelling to and from Venezuela.

“I don’t rule it out, no," he told NBC News in a phone interview. Trump also said there would be additional seizures of oil tankers near Venezuelan waters.

“If they’re foolish enough to be sailing along, they’ll be sailing along back into one of our harbours," he told the outlet. This came after Trump ordered a “blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela in Washington’s latest move to increase pressure on Nicolas Maduro’s government.

Trump’s admission of not ruling out a war with Venezuela is significant, as the 79-year-old Republican president had campaigned in 2024 to keep the US out of foreign conflicts and promised to “stop wars".

Trump also declined to say whether ousting Maduro was his ultimate goal. “He knows exactly what I want. He knows better than anybody," he said.

Earlier, Trump announced that the Maduro-led government would be designated a foreign terrorist organisation. He also warned that Venezuela was “completely surrounded by the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America," referring to US Navy and Marine deployments in the region, including an aircraft carrier. Venezuela responded by accusing Washington of breaching international law.

READ MORE: ‘Venezuela Completely Surrounded…’: Donald Trump Orders Total Blockade To Pressurise Maduro

‘Current Status Quo Intolerable For US’

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended Trump’s policies at a news conference at the Department of State, while declining to answer explicitly if the United States was aiming to overthrow Maduro.

“It is clear that the current status quo with the Venezuelan regime is intolerable for the United States," he said. “So yes, our goal is to change that dynamic, and that’s why the president is doing what he’s doing."

He also said nothing will stop the US from enforcing its law to impose sanctions on Venezuela’s shipments of oil, after the Trump administration imposed the duties on more associates of Maduro’s family. However, the administration has stopped short of seeking formal approval by Congress, which constitutionally is in charge of declarations of war.

“I can tell you that to this point, nothing has happened that requires us to notify Congress or get congressional approval or cross the threshold in the war," he said.

Tensions have been rising in recent weeks, with Trump repeatedly signalling the possibility of military action. He has declared Venezuela’s airspace effectively “closed" and suggested that expanded operations to curb drug trafficking on land could begin soon.

This came amid the administration’s campaign of launching strikes on at least 28 boats accused of facilitating drugs in the United States, which have killed more than 100 people. The administration previously argued that its military deployment was in response to drug trafficking.

Some lawmakers have alleged a war crime on September 2 when the United States carried out a second strike to kill survivors of an initial hit on a boat.

(with agency inputs)

News world Trump Says He Is Not Ruling Out War With Venezuela: 'Maduro Knows What I Want'

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