President Donald Trump announced that countries importing oil from Venezuela will have to pay an additional customs duty in their trade with the United States.

President Donald Trump stated that any country purchasing oil or gas from Venezuela will have to pay a 25% customs duty in transactions with the United States. Trump, claiming that Venezuela is hostile to the United States and freedoms, said, “Therefore, any country buying oil or gas from Venezuela will have to pay a 25% tariff in all its trade with the United States.” Trump, making the announcement through his Truth Social account, revealed that this “secondary customs duty” will come into effect on April 2nd. Trump’s sanction decision added a new dimension to the ongoing tension between Venezuela and the United States. THE GROWING TENSION BETWEEN THE US AND VENEZUELA

The tension between Washington and Caracas, revolving around Venezuelan immigrants in the United States, had reached its peak when Trump activated the Alien Enemies Act, which had previously only been used during times of war, to expedite the deportation of immigrants linked to a Venezuelan gang. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had announced that all Venezuelan immigrants imprisoned in El Salvador would be brought back to their country, stating, “We will bring back all of our citizens who were kidnapped, disappeared, or sent to Nazi camps in El Salvador despite being innocent.”