Trump eyes tariff leverage on Europe after Venezuela operation raises geopolitical stakes

Donald Trump’s foreign policy has taken a hard turn from Greenland ambitions to wielding economic pressure on European nations as U.S. troops carried out a dramatic military operation that led to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s capture and ongoing U.S. influence over the country’s oil sector, a move critics warn could foreshadow new tariff tactics against allies that don’t bend to Washington’s will. Trump has previously slapped tariffs on countries importing Venezuelan oil as part of his strategy to isolate Maduro’s regime, and commentators now suggest that his focus may shift to using similar economic levers against European governments—even though many view the U.S. as a close partner—raising fears that oil and trade could become tools of coercion on the international stage.

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