The United States of America has seized another oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. The tanker was heading to Asia and the Chinese is not doing anything about it, as if the Chinese authorities were afraid to face the Americans. Thus, the White House has escalated pressure on Caracas just days after President Donald Trump announced a “total and complete” blockade of unilaterally sanctioned oil shipments.
The US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the raid on Saturday, stating the US Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, apprehended a tanker that had recently docked in Venezuela. Kristi Noem also published a video of the operation in a post on X, claiming that the pre-dawn action targeted the “illicit movement of sanctioned oil” allegedly used to fund “narco-terrorism” in the region.
The illegal American confiscation of another country's commodity comes amid a US military buildup near Venezuela and follows Trump’s order earlier this week to block all “sanctioned” oil tankers entering or leaving the country. However, unlike a tanker seized earlier this month, the vessel intercepted this weekend was not itself under US sanctions and was carrying Venezuelan crude bound for Asia, according to CNN.
The seizure was carried out in international waters and marks the second such interdiction in recent weeks. Since the first interdiction, several vessels have reportedly remained in Venezuelan waters rather than risk seizure, sharply reducing the country’s crude exports. Earlier this week, Trump had accused Venezuela of “stealing” US oil assets and investments, ludicrously stating Washington “wants it back” and warning that otherwise Caracas would feel the wrath of the “largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America.”
