US President Donald Trump has once again targeted Venezuela, announcing this Monday, March 24, that his administration will impose secondary tariffs on countries purchasing Venezuelan oil or gas.
“Any Country [sic] that purchases oil and/or gas from Venezuela will be forced to pay a Tariff [sic] of 25% to the United States on any Trade [sic] they do with our Country [sic]. All documentation will be signed and registered, and the Tariff [sic] will take place on April 2nd, 2025, LIBERATION DAY IN AMERICA [sic],” wrote Trump in a social media post.
The US ruler justified the new economic sanction by using the hard-to-believe narrative of the Aragua Train invasion. According to Trump, the illegal economic coercive measures (euphemistically referred to as “sanctions”) were imposed “for numerous reasons, including the fact that Venezuela has purposefully and deceitfully sent to the United States, undercover, tens of thousands of high level [sic], and other, criminals, many of whom are murderers and people of a very violent nature. Among the gangs they sent to the United States, is Tren de Aragua, which has been given the designation of ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization.’”
He added that the US is working to repatriate migrants to Venezuela but reiterated, “Venezuela has been very hostile to the United States and the Freedoms [sic] which we espouse,” framing his punitive measures against Venezuelans without mentioning that US imperialism has used every tool at its disposal to oust first President Hugo Chávez and now President Nicolás Maduro, duly elected representatives of the democratic will of the Venezuelan people and the Bolivarian Revolution.
Venezuela’s response
Venezuela firmly and categorically rejected the new aggression, releasing a communiqué, via foreign minister Yván Gil, stating that this arbitrary, illegal, and desperate measure, “far from affecting our resolve, confirms the resounding failure of all sanctions imposed against our country.”
In the statement, Venezuela repudiated this new action as a flagrant violation of international trade rules by the United States.
Below is the unofficial translation of the statement:
Venezuela’s course is clear; nothing and no one will stop us.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela firmly and categorically rejects the new aggression announced by United States President Donald Trump, who aims to impose a 25% secondary tariff on any country that trades oil and gas with Venezuela. This arbitrary, illegal, and desperate measure, far from weakening our resolve, confirms the resounding failure of all sanctions imposed against our country.
For years, the fascist right—repudiated by the Venezuelan people—has promoted economic sanctions in the hope of bringing Venezuela to its knees. They have failed. They failed because Venezuela is a sovereign nation, because its people have resisted with dignity, and because the world no longer submits to any form of economic dictatorship. Today, this same failed strategy is being repeated through coercive measures designed to undermine our nation’s development.
With this new action, the United States flagrantly violates international trade rules, including:
• The Most-Favored Nation principle (Article 1 of GATT 1994), which prohibits discrimination between trading partners.
• The prohibition of quantitative restrictions (Article XI of GATT 1994), which bars the imposition of disguised trade barriers.
• The principle of non-discrimination and fair treatment, enshrined in the Marrakech Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO).
These rules were established precisely to prevent nations from weaponizing trade for political coercion. Venezuela will pursue all appropriate measures through international organizations to defend its rights and expose this latest breach of the global economic order.
