Trump is claiming this to be the reason, but I'm guessing in the end it's about their natural resources.
en.wikipedia.org
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>>>On March 24, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that he would be placing a 25% tariff on all imports from any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela, as well as imposing new tariffs on the country itself, which would take effect on April 2.
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In a post made to
Truth Social, in which he made the announcement, he claimed as one of the reasons for the tariffs "...that Venezuela had purposefully and deceitfully sent to the United States, tens of thousands of high level, and other, criminals, many of whom are murderers and people of a very violent nature." including members of the
Tren de Aragua gang, who Trump had classified as a
foreign terrorist organization.
[6][7]
The
Venezuelan Foreign Ministry responded to the tariffs, saying in a statement that they rejected the tariffs and called them "arbitrary, illegal, and desperate." The President of Venezuela
Nicolás Maduro also responded, stating “Imperial announcements only motivate us to work harder.”
[8]
Later that same day Trump signed Executive Order 14245 to enact the announced tariffs.
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