The US president has explained the motive behind the blockade on the Latin American state

President Donald Trump has said the United States is seeking to reclaim oil, land, and other assets from Venezuela, arguing that previous administrations allowed Caracas to strip Washington of its economic interests in the country.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Trump said Venezuela had taken "oil rights" and other assets that he claimed belonged to the US, prompting his decision to impose a naval blockade on the Latin American state.

"They took our oil rights. We had a lot of oil there," Trump said. "They threw our companies out, and we want it back."

Trump accused previous US leadership of weakness that enabled Venezuela to seize control of assets once held by American firms. "They took it away because we had a president that maybe wasn't watching," he said. "But they're not going to do that. We want it back."

Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in 1976, creating the state-owned company PDVSA and ending direct foreign ownership of oil reserves, while still allowing international firms to operate under service contracts. Under President Hugo Chavez in 2007, the government took majority control of large oil projects. Several Western energy companies, including ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, exited the country after refusing the new terms and later pursued arbitration claims.

The standoff comes amid an expanded US military presence in the Caribbean. Since September, US forces have carried out strikes against alleged drug traffickers operating at sea, killing more than 80 people in operations targeting what Washington describes as cartel-linked vessels. Trump has also threatened to extend strikes onto Venezuelan territory, accusing Caracas of harboring "narcoterrorists" - allegations the Venezuelan government has repeatedly denied.

On Tuesday, Trump announced "a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela... until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the oil, land, and other assets that they previously stole from us."

Caracas has condemned the blockade as illegal and in violation of international law, free trade, and freedom of navigation. The Venezuelan government rejected Trump's claims outright, insisting that its oil and mineral resources are sovereign property. "Venezuela will never again be a colony of an empire or any foreign power," Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said.