Trump imposed a full blockade on Venezuelan oil, designated Maduro's regime as a terrorist organization and claimed the country "stole" U.S. assets.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said Wednesday that his US counterpart Donald Trump had revealed his true motives toward the South American country with his claim that that it had stolen US “oil,

As U.S.-Venezuela tensions rise, sociologist and historian Emmanuel Guerisoli wrote in Spanish in Latinoamerica21 that a civil war is "very likely" if the United States tries to unilaterally oust President Nicolás Maduro.

Listen to Pablo Uchoa, an expert in Venezuelan military scenario planning, on The Conversation Weekly podcast.

U.S. forces surrounding Venezuela are growing after President Donald Trump designated President Nicolas Maduro’s regime as a foreign terrorist organization and ordered a blockade on tankers carrying “sanctioned” oil.

President Trump said the United States wanted to reclaim expropriated oil assets, setting off a nationalist reaction in a country where the resource holds a mythical status.

The US seizure of an oil tanker near Venezuela is not the only point of contention between the two countries. Drugs, oil, sanctions and election disputes are all playing a part in the escalating conflict.

Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA has been subject to a cyberattack, it said on Monday, adding its operations were unaffected, even though four sources said systems remained down and oil cargo deliveries were suspended.