Tensions rise as US prepares to seize more tankers with Venezuelan oil
Seizure off Venezuela signals a crackdown on a shadow fleet of tankers and financially squeezing the Maduro government
The seizure was the first interdiction of an oil cargo or tanker from Venezuela, which has been under US sanctions since 2019. It came as the US executes a large-scale military build-up in the southern Caribbean and as US President Donald Trump pushes for Maduro’s ouster.
The latest US action has put shipowners, operators and maritime agencies involved in transporting Venezuelan crude on alert, with many reconsidering whether to sail from Venezuelan waters in the coming days as planned, shipping sources said.
Further direct interventions by the US were expected in the coming weeks targeting ships carrying Venezuelan oil that may also have transported oil from other countries targeted by US sanctions, such as Iran, according to the sources familiar with the matter who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.
US seizes oil tanker off Venezuela
Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA did not reply to a request for comment. Venezuela’s government this week said the US seizure constituted a “theft”.