US pursuing another tanker helping Venezuela skirt sanctions, says official
It comes after the US administration announced it had seized a tanker for the second time in less than two weeks.
The US coast guard was pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea as the Trump administration appeared to be intensifying its targeting of such vessels connected to the Venezuelan government.
The pursuit of the tanker on Sunday, which was confirmed by a US official briefed on the operation, comes after the US administration announced on Saturday it had seized a tanker for the second time in less than two weeks.
The official, who was not authorised to comment publicly about the ongoing operation and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Sunday’s pursuit involved “a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion”.
The official said the vessel was flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.
The coast guard’s pursuit of the tanker was first reported by Reuters.
Saturday’s pre-dawn seizure of a Panama-flagged vessel called Centuries targeted what the White House described as a “falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil”.
The coast guard, with assistance from the Navy, seized a sanctioned tanker called Skipper on December 10, another part of the shadow fleet of tankers that the US says operates on the fringes of the law to move sanctioned cargo.
It was not even flying a nation’s flag when it was seized by the coast guard.
President Donald Trump, after that first seizure, said that the US would carry out a “blockade” of Venezuela.
It all comes as Mr Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric toward Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
This past week Mr Trump demanded that Venezuela return assets that it seized from US oil companies years ago, justifying anew his announcement of a “blockade” against oil tankers traveling to or from the South American country that face American sanctions.
Mr Trump cited the lost US investments in Venezuela when asked about his newest tactic in a pressure campaign against Mr 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.
US oil companies dominated Venezuela’s petroleum industry until the country’s leaders moved to nationalise the sector, first in the 1970s and again in the 21st century under Mr Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez.
Compensation offered by Venezuela was deemed insufficient, and in 2014, an international arbitration panel ordered the country’s socialist government to pay 1.6 billion dollars to ExxonMobil.
Mr Maduro said in a message on Sunday on Telegram that Venezuela has spent months “denouncing, challenging and defeating a campaign of aggression that goes from psychological terrorism to corsairs attacking oil tankers”.
He added: “We are ready to accelerate the pace of our deep revolution!”
The targeting of tankers comes as Mr Trump has ordered the Defence 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 United States and beyond.
At least 104 people have been killed in 28 known strikes since early September.
The strikes have faced scrutiny from US legislators 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.
Mr Trump has repeatedly said Mr Maduro’s days in power are numbered.
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said in an interview with Vanity Fair published last week that Mr Trump “wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle”.
Senator Tim Kaine told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that Mr Trump’s use of military to mount pressure on Mr Maduro runs contrary to Mr Trump’s pledge to keep the United States out of unnecessary wars.
Democrats have been pressing Mr Trump to seek congressional authorisation for the military action in the Caribbean.
“We should be using sanctions and other tools at our disposal to punish this dictator who is violating the human rights of his civilians and has run the Venezuelan economy into the ground,” Mr Kaine said.
“But I’ll tell you, we should not be waging war against Venezuela.
“We definitely should not be waging war without a vote of Congress.
