“On Saturday, the US military seized a vessel off the coast of Venezuela amid increasing pressure from US President Donald Trump on Caracas.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Source: CNN citing sources, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem
Details: This is the second known case of the US detaining a vessel near Venezuela this month, and comes after Trump announced this week a “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the country. On December 10, the US seized a large oil tanker called Skipper, which was under sanctions for its ties to Iran.
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The publication added that while Trump’s order referred to tankers under sanctions, the vessel detained by the US on Saturday was not under US sanctions, the official said. The tanker crew did not contest the detention.
Also, according to the source CNNthe vessel was a Panamanian-flagged tanker carrying Venezuelan oil bound for Asia.
Saturday’s operation was conducted under the direction of the US Coast Guard with the assistance of the US military and took place in international waters, the official said.
Noem, whose agency is part of the Coast Guard, posted a seven-minute video on social media Saturday night showing a helicopter hovering over the tanker. She wrote that the tanker was detained by the Coast Guard with support from the Department of Defense and that it was last docked in Venezuela.
“The United States will continue to pursue the illegal movement of sanctioned oil used to finance narco-terrorism in the region,” Noem added.
Meanwhile, Venezuela’s foreign minister announced on Saturday that Iran had offered its cooperation to counter what he called “acts of piracy” and “international terrorism” by the US government.
Prehistory:
The US has been waging a campaign of pressure on Venezuela for several months, which includes sending thousands of troops and an aircraft carrier strike group to the Caribbean, striking suspected drug-trafficking vessels and repeatedly threatening Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
The United States on Friday imposed sanctions against family members and associates of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
Read also: Drug trafficking or Caribbean oil: why the US is actually hitting ships near Venezuela