Trump says the US has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolas MaduroUsing US forces to take control of a merchant ship is incredibly unusual and marks the Trump administrations latest push to increase pressure on Maduro who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States The has built up the largest military presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drugsmuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean The campaign is facing growing scrutiny from CongressWeve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela a large tanker very large largest one ever seized actually Trump told reporters at the White House later adding that it was seized for a very good reason Trump did not offer additional details When asked what would happen to the oil aboard the tanker Trump said Well we keep it I guessThe seizure was led by the US Coast Guard and supported by the Navy according to a US official who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity The official added that it was conducted under US law enforcement authorityStorming the oil tankerThe Coast Guard members were taken to the oil tanker by helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford the official said Ford is in the Caribbean Sea after arriving last month in a major show of force joining a fleet of other warshipsVideo posted to social media by Attorney General Pam Bondi shows people fastroping from one of the helicopters involved in the operation as it hovers just feet from the deck The Coast Guard members can be seen later in the video moving throughout the superstructure of the ship with their weapons drawnBondi wrote that for multiple years the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organisations Venezuelas government said in a statement that the seizure constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracyUnder these circumstances the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed iquest It has always been about our natural resources our oil our energy the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people the statement saidHalf of ships oil is tied to Cuban importerThe US official identified the seized tanker as the Skipper The ship departed Venezuela around December 2 with about 2 million barrels of heavy crude roughly half of it belonging to a Cuban staterun oil importer according to documents from the stateowned company Petroacuteleos de Venezuela SA commonly known as PDVSA that were provided on the condition of anonymity because the person did not have permission to share themThe Skipper was previously known as the MT Adisa according to ship tracking data The Adisa was sanctioned by the US in 2022 over accusations of belonging to a sophisticated network of shadow tankers that smuggled crude oil on behalf of Irans Revolutionary Guard and Lebanons Hezbollah militant group The network was reportedly run by a Switzerlandbased Ukrainian oil trader the US Treasury Department said at the timeHitting Venezuelas sanctioned oil businessVenezuela has the worlds largest proven oil reserves and produces about 1 million barrels a day PDVSA is the backbone of the countrys economy Its reliance on intermediaries increased in 2020 when the first Trump administration expanded its maximumpressure campaign on Venezuela with sanctions that threaten to lock out of the US economy any individual or company that does business with Maduros government Longtime allies Russia and Iran both also sanctioned have helped Venezuela skirt restrictionsThe transactions usually involve a complex network of shadowy intermediaries Many are shell companies registered in jurisdictions known for secrecy The buyers deploy socalled ghost tankers that hide their location and hand off their valuable cargoes in the middle of the ocean before they reach their final destinationMaduro did not address the seizure during a speech before a rulingparty organised demonstration in Caracas Venezuelas capital But he told supporters that the country is prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary Maduro has insisted the real purpose of the US military operations is to force him from officeDemocrat says the move is about regime changeSen Chris Van Hollen DMd a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said the US seizing the oil tanker cast doubt on the administrations stated reasons for the military buildup and boat strikes This shows that their whole cover story that this is about interdicting drugs is a big lie the senator said This is just one more piece of evidence that this is really about regime change by forceThe seizure comes a day after the US military flew a pair of fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela in what appeared to be the closest that warplanes had come to the South American countrys airspace Trump has said land attacks are coming soon but has not offered more detailsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever