Along with the blockade, Trump said he has formally designated Venezuela's Maduro and his government allies a foreign terrorist organization.

China has ample reason to oppose the build-up of American military might in Caribbean Sea –and the recent US interceptions of tankers hauling Venezuelan oil.

President Donald Trump is gathering with top national security officials on Monday, a meeting that comes as the U.S. Coast Guard steps up efforts to interdict oil tankers in the Caribbean Sea as part of the Republican administration's escalating pressure campaign on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's government.