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The United States seized a second oil vessel off the coast of Venezuela, marking the latest escalation in tensions between the two countries, according to US officials cited by Al Jazeera.
This move comes days after President Trump announced a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, citing concerns over the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government's alleged involvement in narco-terrorism US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, in a post on X on Saturday, wrote, "The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region." The seizure was carried out by the US Coast Guard, with support from the Pentagon, and is part of a broader effort to disrupt Venezuela's oil exports and pressure Maduro to step down. Three officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to Al Jazeera's sources, did not disclose the location of the operation but noted that the coastguard was in the lead. Two officials also confirmed the operation. The action was described as a "consented boarding," with the tanker voluntarily stopping and allowing US forces to board it, one official said. In the days since US forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off Venezuela's coast last week, there has been an effective embargo in place, with loaded vessels carrying millions of barrels of oil staying in Venezuelan waters rather than risking seizure, as per Al Jazeera. Since the first seizure, Venezuelan crude exports have fallen sharply. While many vessels picking up oil in Venezuela are under sanctions, others transporting the country's oil and crude from Iran and Russia are not. Some companies, particularly the US's Chevron, transport Venezuelan oil in their own authorised ships, as per Al Jazeera. China is the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude, accounting for about 4 per cent of its imports, with shipments in December on track to average more than 600,000 barrels per day, analysts have said. For now, the oil market is well supplied, with millions of barrels of oil on tankers off the coast of China awaiting discharge, as reported by Al Jazeera. Trump's pressure campaign on Maduro has included a ramped-up military presence in the region and more than two dozen military strikes on vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near Venezuela, which have killed at least 100 people. (ANI)
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