US intercepts Venezuelan oil tanker on high seas: second incident in a few weeks

The US military has stopped and seized an oil tanker in international waters of the Caribbean Sea. The vessel was traveling from Venezuela, and this is the second such case in a short period of time.

It was reported by Reuters.

The White House said the tanker was carrying oil that is under US sanctions. According to administration spokeswoman Anna Kelly, the vessel was operating under a false flag and was part of the so-called Venezuelan "shadow fleet." She claims that such vessels are used to illegally export oil and finance the "narcoterrorist regime" of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Caracas reacted sharply to the US actions. The Venezuelan authorities called the seizure of the vessel a "serious act of international piracy" and announced their intention to appeal to the UN Security Council, as well as to other international structures.

According to the British company Vanguard, which specializes in maritime risks, the intercepted vessel was probably the Panamanian-flagged tanker Centuries. The incident occurred east of Barbados, in the waters of the Caribbean Sea.

At the same time, Jeremy Paner, a partner at the Washington law firm Hughes Hubbard and a former investigator at the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), noted that the vessel was not under US sanctions.

The seizure of the tanker came amid tougher actions by Washington against Venezuelan oil exports. Recently, US President Donald Trump ordered a complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela's ports.

The first such incident occurred on December 10 off the Venezuelan coast. At that time, US forces detained a flagless tanker that was under sanctions. These moves are part of a broader campaign of pressure on the Maduro regime, which Trump accuses of facilitating drug trafficking to the United States.

Briefly about the escalation between the US and Venezuela

In the fall, relations between the United States and Venezuela deteriorated sharply. The US military regularly attacked vessels near Venezuelan shores and in international waters, claiming that they were involved in drug trafficking. Since the beginning of September alone, the US has repeatedly reported the destruction of boats from Venezuela in the Caribbean, the deaths of dozens of people and the "elimination of militants."

Venezuela responded by launching military exercises in the Caribbean and on October 9 appealed to the UN Security Council to urgently consider the US actions off its coast, calling them a violation of international law.

At the same time, the United States stepped up political and economic pressure. At the end of November, Donald Trump announced the closure of airspace over Venezuela, and in December - new sanctions against relatives of President Nicolas Maduro, oil tankers and companies involved in oil exports. The US administration has also designated Maduro and his government as members of a foreign terrorist organization.

Venezuela announced a "massive mobilization" of military personnel, weapons and equipment in response to the build-up of US warships and troops in the Caribbean.

In November, the United States launched the military operation "Southern Spear," deploying dozens of ships and up to 15,000 troops near Venezuela. on November 22, a large-scale demonstration of force with the use of strategic aviation took place.