US EditionCoast Guard is pursuing another tanker helping Venezuela skirt sanctions, US official says
- The U.S. Coast Guard is in active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel in international waters near Venezuela, U.S. officials confirmed on Sunday during an ongoing interdiction campaign.
- The blockade and recent seizures have set the enforcement backdrop, including the Skipper seizure on December 10 and the Centuries in a predawn operation.
- Boarding teams attempted to board Bella 1 but were rebuffed, prompting pursuit with helicopter support from the Defense Department; the vessel is under a judicial seizure order and flying a false flag.
- If successful, the third interception in less than two weeks would prompt Caracas to denounce the seizures as "theft and hijacking", with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez warning of reports to the United Nations Security Council.
- Broader effects include tankers diverting away from Venezuelan waters amid a U.S. military buildup featuring the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and intensified Department of Defense strikes, while China's foreign minister Wang Yi criticized the actions on Wednesday.
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467 Articles
US Chases Sanctioned Tanker Near Venezuela As Trump Tightens Oil Blockade
The United States pursued a sanctioned oil tanker near Venezuela on Sunday, marking another escalation in President Donald Trump’s effort to choke off Caracas’ oil exports, US officials said. The vessel, Bella 1, was heading toward Venezuela to load crude when the US Coast Guard attempted to board it
The US Coast Guard is "actively" pursuing a third oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, after seizing two in the past two weeks. The ship is flying a false flag and is under US sanctions for its ties to Iran, a US official said.
The US Coast Guard said on Sunday it was tracking another oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela, the Guardian reports. It was the second such operation this weekend and the third in the past week. The operation, described by the newspaper’s sources as a “chase” in the Caribbean Sea, came a day after US authorities seized another ship off the coast of Venezuela. The Americans said they approached the ship late on Saturday …
Trump previously ordered the seizure of all oil tankers that are under sanctions.
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