Venezuela condemns US oil tanker seizure as ‘piracy’
|
The Venezuelan government has condemned the US seizure of another oil tanker off its coast, describing it as a “serious act of international piracy”.
Venezuela “denounces and rejects the theft and hijacking of a new private vessel transporting oil, as well as the forced disappearance of its crew, committed by military personnel of the United States of America in international waters”, it said in a statement on Saturday.
Caracas said the actions would be reported to the United Nations Security Council, other multilateral organisations and governments.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the seizure in a post on X, days after President Donald Trump announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela..
“The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region,” Noem wrote.
“We will find you, and we will stop you.”
The US Coast Guard apprehended the vessel before dawn on Saturday with support from the Pentagon, she added.
The operation comes days after Trump announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers coming in and out of the South American country and follows the December 10 seizure by American forces of an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast.
Noem posted an unclassified video of a US helicopter landing personnel on a vessel called Centuries.
A crude oil tanker flying under the flag of Panama operates under the name and was recently spotted near the Venezuelan coast, according to MarineTraffic, a project that tracks the movement of vessels around the globe using publicly available data.
It was not immediately clear if the vessel was under US sanctions.
The action was a “consented boarding”, with the tanker stopping voluntarily and allowing US forces to board it, according to a US official who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Trump following the first tanker seizure vowed that the US would carry out a blockade of Venezuela.
It comes as Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric toward Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and warned his days in power are numbered.
The president this week demanded that Venezuela return assets that it seized from US oil companies years ago, justifying anew his announcement of a “blockade” against oil tankers travelling to or from the South American country that face American sanctions.
Trump cited the lost US investments in Venezuela when asked about his newest tactic in a pressure campaign against Maduro, suggesting the Republican administration’s moves are at least somewhat motivated by disputes over oil investments, along with accusations of drug trafficking. Some sanctioned tankers already are diverting away from Venezuela.
“We’re not going to be letting anybody going through who shouldn’t be going through,” Trump told reporters.
“You remember they took all of our energy rights. They took all of our oil not that long ago. And we want it back. They took it – they illegally took it.”
The targeting of tankers comes as Trump has ordered the Defense Department to carry out a series of attacks on vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean that his administration alleges are smuggling fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the US and beyond.
At least 104 people have been killed in 28 known strikes since early September.
The strikes have faced scrutiny from US lawmakers and human rights activists, who say the administration has offered scant evidence that its targets are indeed drug smugglers and that the fatal strikes amount to extrajudicial killings.
Maduro said the real purpose of the US military operations was to force him from power.
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said in an interview with Vanity Fair published this week that Trump “wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle”.
with AP
Reuters
