Washington — The US seized an empty Russian-flagged, Venezuela-linked oil tanker in the Atlantic on Wednesday as part of President Donald Trump’s aggressive push to dictate oil flows in the Americas and force Venezuela’s socialist government to become an ally. After capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in an attack on Caracas on Saturday, the US is continuing to blockade vessels under sanctions off the South American country, a member of the Opec oil group. The US Coast Guard and US military special forces apprehended the Marinera tanker, which had refused to be boarded last month and had switched to Russia’s flag, officials said.
The US operation was supported by Britain’s Royal Air Force and one of its military vessels, which British defence secretary John Healey said was part of “global efforts to crack down on sanctions busting”. With a Russian submarine and vessels nearby after a two-week pursuit in the Atlantic, the move risked more confrontation with Russia, which has condemned US actions over Venezuela and is already at odds with the West due to the war in Ukraine. Russian state broadcaster RT showed an image of a helicopter hovering near the Marinera, originally known as the Bella-1, as US forces began boarding the U.S.-sanctioned tanker.
It was empty, but Washington says it has been used to transport sanctioned Venezuelan oil. The US Coast Guard also intercepted a tanker carrying Venezuelan oil, the Panama-flagged M Sophia, near the northeast coast of South America, the US officials said, in the fourth seizure in recent weeks. The tanker was fully loaded, according to records of state oil company PDVSA.
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“The United States’ brazen use of force against Venezuela and its demand for ‘America First’ when Venezuela disposes of its own oil resources are typical acts of bullying,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press conference. Trump has openly spoken of controlling Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, in conjunction with U.S. oil companies, after arresting and jailing Maduro, whom he has cast as a drug-trafficking dictator in league with Washington’s foes. Maduro pleaded not guilty this week to drug crimes in a federal court in New York.
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