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Trump Targets Maduro's Financial Lifeline with Oil Tanker Seizure
The seizure of the Skipper carrying nearly $100 million in crude disrupts crucial oil revenue for Venezuela and other sanctioned states, complicating their export strategies, U.S. officials said.
- Earlier this week, U.S. authorities seized the tanker Skipper while it carried Venezuelan crude to Cuba, an action widely seen as a significant escalation by the Trump administration that imposed a major financial loss with nearly $100 million worth of crude.
- As U.S. sanctions broadened, shadow fleets multiplied and adopted concealment tactics, scooping sanctioned oil from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela and using ship-to-ship transfers and false flags to mask cargo origins.
- At the time of capture the ship was sailing under a false Guyanese flag and spoofing its location, and the Skipper was sanctioned in 2022 as the Adisa for smuggling Iranian oil supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah.
- Cracking down on shadow tankers will make it harder for the Maduro regime to fund military equipment and salaries, and the seizure should prompt shadow-ship operators to reconsider Caribbean smuggling routes.
- While autocrats adapt to hardship, repeated seizures could erode regime loyalty and strain Maduro's finances, especially as Venezuela's oil sector depends on creative export arrangements amid deep financial fragility.
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29 Articles
29 Articles
Trump targets Maduro's financial lifeline with oil tanker seizure
President Trump is ratcheting up pressure against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, targeting his financial lifeline by seizing a massive tanker carrying crude oil off the coast of Venezuela and ramping up sanctions on the regime. The capture of a sanctioned ship has fueled fears of a wider conflict with Venezuela while also raising the prospect [...]
·United Kingdom
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The US recently seized a tanker off the coast of Venezuela, and the latest data shows that Venezuela's oil exports have fallen sharply.
·Estonia
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources29
Leaning Left4Leaning Right2Center5Last UpdatedBias Distribution46% Center
Bias Distribution
- 46% of the sources are Center
46% Center
L 36%
C 46%
R 18%
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