Maduro Responds to Trump: the Venezuelan Navy Will Escort Oil Tankers

[SVPete]

Maduro Responds to Trump: the Venezuelan Navy Will Escort Oil Tankers

https://lavocedinewyork.com/en/news/2025/12/18/maduro-responds-to-trump-the-venezuelan-navy-will-escort-oil-tankers/

After Donald Trump announced his intention to impose a “total and complete blockade” on all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, local leader Nicolás Maduro sought to take remedial action by ordering the navy to escort ships carrying petroleum products, thereby exacerbating tensions with the US.

According to sources, between Tuesday and Wednesday, several ships sailed from Venezuela to Asia escorted by Venezuelan forces. None of these ships were included in the list of vessels sanctioned by the US.

According to insiders, the recent series of events, triggered by the Trump administration’s seizure of an oil tanker last week, has increased the likelihood of violent conflict between the parties.
...
What is certain, however, is that if Maduro continues to order the Venezuelan navy to escort ships, this will increase the likelihood that the US military will intervene to stop the sanctioned vessels, thus increasing the chances of a military confrontation.

The bias of the article is obvious, but "Venezuelan Navy" sounds more impressive than it is. Venezuela has all of 1 missile frigate and 6 ocean-going patrol boats. 3 of the latter only have guns (1 76mm/62 autocannon, 1 35mm Oerlikon, and 1 12.7mm machine gun). These have ~4000 nautical mile range, but that would only reach the western coast of Africa, not all the way to Russia or Iran. And there are just 7 such ships, assuming they are all still seaworthy. The Venezuelan Navy is not a paper tiger, it's a paper kitten.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

I'm no naval expert, but I'm guessing Venezuela doesn't have a blue water navy. That means the range at which they can go out to meet or provide escort departing Venezuelan waters has to be considerably limited. Just making up numbers here, but if they could operate out to a range of 50 miles, then the US navy need only sit at 51 miles, and all Maduro can do is sit there and look impotent.

It might have been better to say nothing at all.

[SVPete]

Their ships seem to have the range to reach a 1600-2000 mile out-and-back radius, but I wonder if they would do very well out into the Atlantic. The other factor, besides their range limit and single-digit numbers is wear and tear. The USN could, as you posted, track sanctioned tankers until they are out of Venezuela's range. But being able to escort one or two ships at a time means curtailing tanker sailings or many sanctioned tankers being unescorted. Like I posted, the Venezuelan Navy is a paper, possibly also sickly, kitten.

[DLR Pyro]

Maduro Responds to Trump: the Venezuelan Navy Will Escort Oil Tankers

[DefiantSix]

I'm no naval expert, but I'm guessing Venezuela doesn't have a blue water navy. That means the range at which they can go out to meet or provide escort departing Venezuelan waters has to be considerably limited. Just making up numbers here, but if they could operate out to a range of 50 miles, then the US navy need only sit at 51 miles, and all Maduro can do is sit there and look impotent.

It might have been better to say nothing at all.

Whatever you do, never bring up the fact that US Navy SSNs can operate in the waters of the Gulf of America with absolute impugnity.