US personnel boarded and seized a vessel near the coast of Venezuela on Saturday, according to an official familiar with the matter, as the Trump administration increases pressure on Caracas.
This marks the second known case this month of the United States intercepting a vessel near Venezuela and follows President Donald Trump’s announcement earlier this week of a “blockade” targeting sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the country.
On December 10, the US seized a large oil tanker named Skipper, which had been under sanctions due to its links with Iran.
While Trump’s directive this week targets sanctioned tankers, the vessel seized on Saturday was not under US sanctions, the official said. The detention was not resisted by the tanker’s crew.
The ship was a Panama-flagged tanker transporting Venezuelan oil and was ultimately destined for Asia, according to the official, CNN reports.
The operation was led by the US Coast Guard, with assistance from the US military, and took place in international waters, the official added.
For months, the United States has been conducting a pressure campaign against Venezuela, which has included the deployment of thousands of troops and a carrier strike group to the Caribbean, attacks on vessels suspected of drug trafficking, and repeated threats against President Nicolás Maduro. The US military has killed 104 people in strikes that destroyed 29 vessels suspected of drug trafficking.
Venezuela criticized the blockade this week, calling it “a reckless and serious threat.”
