Venezuela has called Donald Trump's announced blockade of oil tankers "irrational" and a "grotesque threat", saying the measure aims to appropriate the country's wealth after U.S. officials seized tankers and stepped up interdictions and strikes.The blockade follows months of sanctions on more than 30 tankers and registries, boarding and seizure operations that included the tanker Skipper and a separate seizure of a Guyana‑flagged ship named Skinner that U.S. authorities said was bound for Iran, leaving about 11 million barrels stranded off Venezuela.Caracas denounced the moves as piracy, Nicolás Maduro warned of reciprocal measures, human rights groups and legal scholars questioned the blockade's legality, and analysts warned the campaign could deepen regional instability and disrupt global oil markets.