Venezuela slams ‘international piracy’ after US seizes another vessel
Trump has ordered a blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers in and out of the area, but the ship is reportedly not one of those blacklisted
The United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela in international waters, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed on Saturday, a move that comes just days after US President Donald Trump announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
It is the second time in recent weeks that the US has gone after a tanker near Venezuela amid a large US military build-up in the region.
“The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco-terrorism in the region,” Noem said in a statement posted on social media. “We will find you, and we will stop you.”
The post was accompanied by a nearly eight-minute video of aerial footage that showed a helicopter hovering just above the deck of a large tanker at sea.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the tanker contained sanctioned oil.
“It was a falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil and fund the narco-terrorist Maduro regime,” she wrote on social media.