The US Coast Guard is in active pursuit of a vessel in international waters near Venezuela as tensions in the region continue to escalate.
US authorities have already seized two oil tankers this month - one of them on Saturday. Sunday’s pursuit is linked to a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion, according to a US official. The vessel is reportedly flying a false flag and is under a judicial seizure order.
The Trump administration has accused Venezuela of utilizing oil revenue to fund drug-related crime, while Venezuela has condemned the tanker seizures as acts of piracy.
According to the New York Times, late on Saturday, the US Coast Guard approached a tanker identified as Bella 1, which was attempting to evade legitimate boarding and was possibly on its way to Venezuela to collect oil. The US has sanctioned Bella 1 for carrying sanctioned cargo last year, linking it to support for Iran's military.
Coast Guard personnel previously boarded another tanker, named Centuries, which, while not on the US Treasury's sanctions list, was alleged to have been carrying oil from Venezuela’s state-run oil company, PDVSA. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that it was part of Venezuela’s operations to traffic stolen oil and fund the narcoterrorist regime of Nicolas Maduro.
This scenario unfolds amidst a broader US pressure campaign against Maduro’s government, characterized by an increase in the rewards for information leading to his capture and a formal declaration of Venezuela’s government as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
The Maduro regime relies heavily on oil export revenues, making the seizure actions particularly controversial and infuriating to Venezuelan officials. In response, Maduro labeled the US actions as piracy, signaling a call for international solidarity at the United Nations Security Council to address the perceived ongoing US aggression.
China has voiced support for Venezuela, criticizing the US's unilateral sanctions as lacking legality. This reflects a growing international dimension to the tensions in the region.
