The U.S. Coast Guard is actively pursuing a third oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, according to a U.S. official.
“The United States Coast Guard is in active pursuit of a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion. It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order,” the official told the Washington Examiner on Sunday evening.
The pursuit began less than 24 hours after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the seizure of a second oil tanker in the Caribbean following its first seizure of a tanker it said was carrying illicit oil near Venezuelan waters on Dec. 10.
The Dec. 10 seizure captured illicit oil from a tanker named Skipper, Saturday’s seizure targeted a tanker named Centuries, and Sunday’s pursuit is targeting Bella 1.
The missions come as part of an escalation of the U.S.’s pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Recently, President Donald Trump declared a blockade on all ships carrying sanctioned oil in and out of Venezuela.
“The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping. For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela,” Trump posted on Truth Social early last week.
COAST GUARD SEIZES OIL TANKER OFF VENEZUELAN COAST IN ESCALATION OF TRUMP-MADURO TENSIONS
Previously, the Trump administration had limited its strategy to conducting strikes on suspected drug-carrying vessels, while simultaneously amassing a huge armada in the Caribbean. The Treasury Department also unveiled sanctions against Maduro’s allies, mounting further pressure on the regime.
In Maduro’s defense, the Kremlin warned against U.S. intervention in Venezuela, warning that it would have “unpredictable consequences for the entire Western Hemisphere.”
