President Trump said the United States wanted to reclaim expropriated oil assets, setting off a nationalist reaction in a country where the resource holds a mythical status.

Venezuela may soon have to start closing some oil wells as it runs low on storage capacity following last week’s tanker seizure and US plans to block other sanctioned vessels.

The votes follow a monthslong military campaign against alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said Wednesday that his US counterpart Donald Trump had revealed his true motives toward the South American country with his claim that that it had stolen US “oil,

The president said in a Truth Social post Venezuela should return those assets to the U.S. and declared an oil tanker blockade.

U.S. President Donald Trump's announced blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan oil could lead to shortages of food, fuel, and other basic goods.

As U.S.-Venezuela tensions rise, sociologist and historian Emmanuel Guerisoli wrote in Spanish in Venezuela’s El Nacional that a civil war is “very likely” if the United States tries to unilaterally oust President Nicolás Maduro. Newsweek has reached out to Guerisoli and the State Department for comment via email on Wednesday.

Gold steadied near a record high, as investors tracked mounting tensions in Venezuela and waited for US inflation data.

Dec 15 (Reuters) - Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA has been subject to a cyberattack, it said on Monday, adding its operations were unaffected, even though four sources said systems remained down and oil cargo deliveries were suspended.