The US has seized an oil tanker that had lately departed from Venezuela, in response to the US Division of Homeland Safety.
It’s the second time this month that an oil-carrying ship has been seized off the nation’s coast.
The transfer comes after President Donald Trump mentioned on Tuesday that he was ordering a “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers coming into and leaving Venezuela.
Venezuela has described the newest US transfer as “theft and kidnapping”. It has beforehand accused the Trump administration of making an attempt to steal its assets.
“These acts is not going to go unpunished,” a press release from the Venezuelan authorities mentioned, including that it supposed to file a criticism with the UN Safety Council and “different multilateral companies and the governments of the world”.
The operation was led by the US Coast Guard, just like the operation earlier this month. The ship was boarded by a specialised tactical crew, and was in worldwide waters when it was taken.
Division of Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem, whose division oversees the Coast Guard, shared a seven-minute video of the operation on X.
It reveals US helicopters touchdown on the deck of a ship with the identify Centuries written on the aspect.
It’s a Panamanian-flagged ship, however prior to now 5 years it has additionally sailed below the flags of Greece and Liberia, in response to information seen by BBC Confirm.
It isn’t on the US Treasury’s listing of sanctioned vessels, however within the hours after the announcement, the White Home clarified that its cargo was sanctioned.
“The tanker contained sanctioned PDVSA oil,” mentioned a publish from Anna Kelly, White Home deputy press secretary, referring to Venezuela’s state-run oil firm .
The publish mentioned the tanker was “working as a part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to site visitors stolen oil and fund the narcoterrorist Maduro regime.”
In latest weeks, the US has been increase its navy presence within the Caribbean Sea and has carried out lethal strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug-smuggling boats, killing round 100 folks.
It has offered no public proof that these vessels had been carrying medicine, and the navy has come below growing scrutiny from Congress over the strikes.
The Trump administration has accused Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro of main a designated-terrorist organisation referred to as Cartel de los Soles, which he denies.
Trump has accused Maduro’s authorities of utilizing “stolen” oil to “finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Homicide, and Kidnapping”.
Following the seizure of the second ship, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X that the US would proceed to “unflinchingly conduct maritime interdiction operations… to dismantle illicit felony networks.”
“Violence, medicine, and chaos is not going to management the Western Hemisphere.”
Venezuela – which is dwelling to the world’s largest confirmed oil reserves – is extremely depending on revenues from its oil exports to finance its authorities spending.
Trump’s announcement of a blockade got here lower than per week after the US seized an oil tanker believed to be a part of the “ghost fleet” off the coast of Venezuela, which allegedly used numerous methods to hide its work.
Venezuela’s authorities decried the transfer, with Maduro saying the US “kidnapped the crew” and “stole” the ship.
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