US seizes another vessel off Venezuela as Trump administration ramps up pressure on Caracas

By Kevin Liptak, CNN

(CNN) — Personnel from the United States boarded and seized a vessel off the coast of Venezuela on Saturday, according to a US official familiar with the matter, as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Caracas.

It was the second known instance of the US interdicting a vessel near Venezuela this month and comes after Trump announced this week a “blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers going in and out of the country. The US seized a large oil tanker called the Skipper, which had been under sanctions for its ties to Iran, on December 10.

While Trump’s directive this week targeted sanctioned tankers, the vessel the US seized Saturday is not under US sanctions, the official said. The seizure wasn’t contested by the tanker’s crew.

The vessel was a Panamanian-flagged tanker carrying Venezuelan oil, according to the official, and was ultimately destined for Asia.

Saturday’s operation was led by the US Coast Guard, with assistance from the US military, and it occurred in international waters, the official said.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose agency includes the Coast Guard, posted a seven-minute video to social media Saturday afternoon showing a helicopter hovering over the tanker. She wrote that the tanker was apprehended in “predawn action” by the Coast Guard with support from the Defense Department and that it was last docked in Venezuela.

“The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region,” she said.

Venezuela’s foreign minister, meanwhile, announced Saturday that Iran offered its cooperation to confront what he described as “acts of piracy” and “international terrorism” by the US government.

Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said on Telegram that he spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, to review bilateral relations and discuss “recent developments in the Caribbean, especially threats” and the “theft of ships loaded with Venezuelan oil.”

Gil said Tehran expressed “full solidarity” with Venezuela and offered cooperation “in all areas” to confront US actions, which he said violate international law.

Combined with Trump’s threats of land strikes on Venezuelan soil, the seizures of vessels have ratcheted up pressure on Caracas by going after its economic lifeline, which had already come under strain after new sanctions on the oil sector earlier this year.

The US is now months into its pressure campaign on Venezuela that has included moving thousands of troops and a carrier strike group into the Caribbean, strikes on suspected drug boats and repeated threats against President Nicolás Maduro.

The US military has killed 104 people in strikes that have destroyed 29 alleged drug boats, attacks that the Trump administration has sold as an effort to crack down on illegal flows of drugs and migrants from Venezuela. But its actions have also pointed to a sweeping pressure campaign on Maduro — whose ouster White House chief of staff Susie Wiles has suggested is the administration’s real goal.

Trump’s announcement this week of a “blockade” also underscored the president’s focus on the country’s oil, which he has said the US should have access to if Maduro is ousted. State-owned Petróleos de Venezuela controls the country’s petroleum industry. Houston-based Chevron is the only US firm drilling in Venezuela and pays a percentage of its output to PDVSA under a sanctions carve-out.

Venezuela’s oil reserves are the world’s largest but operate well below capacity due to international sanctions. Much of the country’s oil is sold to China.

Venezuela slammed the blockade earlier this week, calling it “a reckless and serious threat.” It said it would continue to defend its sovereignty and national interests.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Alessandra Freitas contributed to this report.

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