President Donald Trump announced that countries purchasing 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 buying oil or gas from Venezuela will have to pay a 25% customs duty in their trade with the United States. Claiming that Venezuela is hostile towards the U.S. and freedoms, Trump said, “Therefore, any country purchasing oil or gas from Venezuela will have to pay a 25% tariff in any trade with the U.S.” Trump made this statement via his Truth Social account, announcing that this “secondary customs duty” will be implemented on April 2. Trump’s sanction decision adds a new chapter to the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela. The tension between the U.S. and Venezuela is escalating.

The tension between Washington and Caracas, revolving around Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S., reached a peak when Trump activated the Foreign Enemies Act, previously used only in wartime, to expedite the deportation of immigrants associated with a Venezuelan gang. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced that all Venezuelan immigrants in prison in El Salvador will be brought back to their country, stating, “We will bring back all our citizens who were kidnapped, missing, or sent to Nazi camps in El Salvador despite their innocence.”