China's reaction to the U.S. seizure of Venezuelan oil tankers shows that President Donald Trump has targeted "the nexus of international criminal corruption," former Trump National Security Council chief of staff Fred Fleitz told Newsmax on Tuesday.
Fleitz joined retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt on "Wake Up America Early" with host Krysia Lenzo as the panel discussed simultaneous flashpoints: negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and the Trump administration's stepped-up pressure campaign against Venezuela's Maduro regime and associated trafficking networks.
Trump on Monday delivered a new warning to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as the U.S. Coast Guard steps up efforts to interdict oil tankers in the Caribbean Sea as part of the administration's escalating strong-arm tactics on the government in Caracas.
Reports in recent days have described China criticizing the U.S. tanker seizures as violations of international law amid broader tensions over Venezuela's oil exports.
Fleitz said Beijing's condemnation of the tanker seizures was telling.
"It's great to hear this," he said, arguing that China has poured major resources into pro-Chinese Communist Party actors in Venezuela and now faces disruption of discounted oil flows allegedly moved through deceptive shipping practices.
Fleitz called the Venezuelan oil trade a hub connecting corruption, sanctions evasion, and hostile-state influence, framing Trump's actions as an America First effort to reassert Western Hemisphere security while also disrupting transnational criminal financing.
Trump, Lenzo noted, has touted a major maritime posture in the region as the U.S. pursues a third Venezuelan oil tanker tied to sanctions evasion.
Holt said the administration is "keeping the heat on" cartels and illicit finance networks, arguing that cutting off revenue streams, such as oil shipments he said could total hundreds of millions of dollars, raises costs for criminal organizations and constrains laundering operations.
Holt cautioned that increasing pressure can also trigger retaliatory "activations" by cartels or aligned terror groups.
On Ukraine, Holt said Vice President JD Vance's recent skepticism about a near-term peace deal reflects reality: Ending the conflict remains difficult, but diplomacy has moved further than it was "a few weeks ago," in part because European resistance appears to be easing.
Holt pointed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signaling more optimism about talks and said France's Emmanuel Macron has shifted away from ideas like monetizing Russian assets, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is being pressed to align with Washington.
Fleitz, however, warned that the toughest obstacle is Russian President Vladimir Putin, arguing Moscow has shown little interest in a negotiated settlement even as Kyiv appears more open to a deal structure.
Fleitz said "enormous pressure" must be applied to Putin, including the threat of punishing economic and energy sanctions, to force serious concessions.
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Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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