Rep. Joaquin Castro Calls Trump's Blockade On Venezuela's Tankers 'An Act Of War,' Says 'American People' Don't Want It

Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro said President Donald Trump's announcement of a naval blockade of Venezuela's sanctioned oil tankers is "unquestionably an act of war" and defended his initiative to end hostilities with the South American country.

In a social media publication, Castro said the act is a "war that the Congress never authorized and the American people do not want."

He went on to note that the House is set to vote on Thursday on a resolution to end hostilities with the South American country, which he introduced along with fellow Democrat Jim McGovern and Republican lawmaker Thomas Massie.

"Every member of the House of Representatives will have the opportunity to decide if they support sending Americans into yet another regime change war," he added.

Trump announced on Monday the measure in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, saying the U.S. has designated the Venezuelan authoritarian government as a foreign terrorist organization and ordered a "total and complete blockade" of sanctioned oil tankers.

He claimed the Maduro government uses oil revenues to finance narcotrafficking, human trafficking, terrorism, murder and kidnapping, and said U.S. naval pressure in the Caribbean would continue until Venezuela "returns" oil, land and other assets he said were stolen from the United States.

Responding to those remarks, the Venezuelan government said Trump "assumes that Venezuela's oil, land and mineral wealth are his property," calling the position "interventionist and colonialist." "Venezuela will never again be a colony of any empire or foreign power," the statement said.

Maduro reiterated that Washington's "true intention" has always been to appropriate Venezuela's natural resources through "gigantic campaigns of lies and manipulation." The government also rejected the possibility of a naval blockade, describing it as a "grave and reckless threat," and said it would exercise its sovereignty "above these warmongering threats."

Caracas said its ambassador to the United Nations will immediately file a formal complaint against the United States for what it described as a serious violation of international law.

Trump's announcement follows last week's U.S. seizure of the tanker Skipper, which was carrying Venezuelan crude and was intercepted in the Caribbean under a court order. U.S. officials said the cargo was bound for Cuba and China. It is going to Houston instead.