President Donald Trump announced Monday a 25 percent tariff on any trade with nations that purchase oil and gas from Venezuela beginning next month.
Trump justified the tariff as a response to Venezuela sending members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang to the U.S. Trump has argued that the gang, which was designated a foreign terrorist organization, has made inroads into the U.S. with the help of the Venezuelan government.
“Venezuela has been very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms which we espouse. Therefore, any Country that purchases Oil and/or Gas from Venezuela will be forced to pay a Tariff of 25% to the United States on any Trade they do with our Country,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
The tariff will begin on April 2nd, giving impacted parties a short time to adjust to it. It is one of many tariffs Trump has imposed or threatened to impose during the first months of his second term. Trump has enacted 25 percent tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods, with an extra 25 percent for Canadian steel and aluminum. He has similarly placed an additional 20 percent tariff on Chinese imports and threatened to put a 200 percent tariff on European alcohol in response to the European Union’s retaliatory tariffs on American goods.
Venezuela is one of the world’s premier oil exporters and its government is heavily dependent on oil exports for revenue. China is the biggest market for Venezuelan oil followed by the U.S., despite American sanctions on the socialist dictatorship.
Venezuelan oil exports surged 10.5 percent last year, in part because of the Biden administration’s license to Chevron to resume exports from the country beginning in 2023. The Trump administration announced in February its intention to end Chevron’s license, but Reuters reported last week that Trump was considering a 60 day extension to it.
The Biden administration’s attempt to facilitate fair elections in Venezuela in exchange for opening up its energy market failed last year when socialist dictator Nicholas Maduro oversaw a fraudulent election to maintain power against rising opposition. Maduro has cracked down on protests and targeted opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was detained and then freed in January after leading anti-government protests. Machado went into hiding over the summer as Maduro stole the presidential election from Machado-backed opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.
Trump took a hardline approach to Venezuela in his first term and was expected to do so again with vocal regime critic Marco Rubio serving as Secretary of State. Rubio played a key role in Trump’s latin America policy last time around and is deeply knowledgeable about the region due to his Senate experience and Cuban heritage.
The Trump administration has worked to remove Tren de Aragua members from the U.S. as part of its mass deportation program overseen by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and border czar Tom Homan. Tren de Aragua gained a foothold in multiple American municipalities because of the Biden administration’s soft-handed approach to illegal immigration, especially Aurora, Colorado, a town outside of deep blue Denver.
Trump has declared the gang a foreign terrorist organization and invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport Tren de Aragua members and send them to prison in El Salvador, ignoring a federal judge’s order to halt the deportations until further notice.