By Lucy Davalou &AP
Release date
An oil tanker was seized by the U.S. military off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday. It is the second such action by the US military in less than two weeks as US President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
A few days ago, President Trump announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the country. On December 10, the first tanker was captured by the US military off the coast of the South American country.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem acknowledged in a social media post about Noem shared a video below her message showing a U.S. helicopter unloading personnel onto the ship, named Centuries.
A crude oil tanker flying the Panamanian flag and sailing under that name was recently tracked near the coast of Venezuela, according to MarineTraffic, a project that uses public data to track ships around the world. However, it is unclear whether the ship was under U.S. sanctions.
U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the boarding was a “consent” because the tanker voluntarily stopped and allowed U.S. troops aboard.
The reason for the Century’s seizure is less clear than that of the first tanker, the Skipper, but the ship did not fly a national flag and was part of a shadow fleet transporting sanctioned cargo.
White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said the Century was also a “false flag ship that was operating to transport stolen oil as part of Venezuela’s shadow fleet” carrying sanctioned oil.
However, maritime historian Dr. Salvatore Mercogliano said the Century appeared to be legitimate, according to maritime databases. “Everything points to this being a properly registered vessel,” he said, but added that the vessel was likely carrying sanctioned oil. He called the seizure a “major escalation” and said, “The purpose of this seizure is to scare other tankers away.”
Venezuela called the seizure a “crime” and vowed not to let it “go unpunished”, including by filing a complaint with the United Nations Security Council.
After the seizure of the first tanker, President Trump vowed to blockade Venezuela and increasingly spoke out against President Maduro, warning that the Venezuelan leader’s lifespan was short. He also demanded the return of assets seized from U.S. oil companies several years ago, saying, “We’re not going to let people through who shouldn’t be through…They took it – they took it illegally.”
The United States has also targeted vessels it says are smuggling fentanyl and other drugs, killing at least 104 people in 28 airstrikes since September. Critics say there is a lack of evidence and the deaths amount to extrajudicial killings.
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said Trump is “going to keep blowing up boats until Maduro cries with his uncle.”
