Oil tankers halt Venezuela shipments on fears of US capture
Shafaq News – Caracas
Five supertankers reversed course on Monday after plans to load crude oil bound for Venezuela, amid concerns that US forces could seize the vessels, according to ship-tracking data.
Reuters clarified that a Russian oil tanker carrying crude for Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA, along with at least four other supertankers that had been heading to Venezuelan ports to load crude, turned back following the US seizure of a tanker carrying Venezuelan oil last week.
Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing informed sources, that the United States was likely planning additional seizures of oil tankers subject to sanctions off the coast of Venezuela.
According to the report, the planned measures form part of a new phase in US efforts to increase pressure on Venezuela.
US President Donald Trump announced last Wednesday that a large oil tanker had been detained off the Venezuelan coast. US Attorney General Pam Bondi later said authorities suspect the seized vessel had been involved in transporting oil from Venezuela as well as from Iran.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil accused US authorities of piracy, describing the incident as an “illegal, aggressive act of sabotage.”
The United States has justified its expanded military presence in the Caribbean as part of efforts to combat drug trafficking. In September and October, US forces repeatedly destroyed boats allegedly carrying narcotics off the Venezuelan coast.
In August, Trump issued an executive order increasing the use of the military under the banner of “combating drug cartels” in Latin America. In response, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced the mobilization of 4.5 million people and said the country was preparing to repel any potential attack.
US military operations targeting boats in the Caribbean and Pacific oceans on allegations of drug smuggling, including direct strikes on individuals aboard, have sparked international debate over what critics describe as extrajudicial killings.
