According to American officials, America has seized another tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
An official told Sky’s US partner NBC that the ongoing operation is being led by the coast guard, with the US military providing assistance with its helicopters.
Both the Coast Guard and the Pentagon referred questions about the action to the White House, which has not yet commented.
This comes after the US seized a sanctioned oil tanker named Skipper off the coast of Venezuela last week.
Last week: Watch the dramatic US tanker seizure
Meanwhile, there is a continued build-up of US troops in the region, effectively imposing sanctions on Venezuela.
The US President declared, “The largest armada in South America’s history completely surrounds Venezuela.” Donald Trump said on Tuesday.
“It will get even bigger, and the shock for them will be like they have never seen before.”
The President also criticised the Venezuelan presidential regime in his social media posts, referring to Nicolas Maduro as “illegitimate” and describing it as a “foreign terrorist organisation.”
Mr Maduro says the US is trying to seize Venezuela’s oil reserves. Photo: Reuters
Mr. Trump branded the Venezuelan leader “illegal.” Photo: Reuters
He added, “Therefore, today, I am ordering a complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going in and out of Venezuela.”
Since the skipper’s seizure, ships carrying millions of barrels of oil have been stuck in Venezuelan waters out of fear that the US would intercept them.
Some of these are considered part of “shadow fleets”—ships that use disguise tactics to transport goods to sanctioned countries, such as Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.
Oil tankers in Venezuelan waters this week are part of the so-called shadow.
More than 70 oil tankers in Venezuelan waters this week are part of the so-called shadow fleet, about 38 of which have been sanctioned by the US Treasury, according to data from TankerTrackers.com.
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As part of his efforts, he has also authorised lethal strikes against drug traffickers’ vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
President Maduro claims Mr Trump is trying to overthrow him with the aim of seizing Venezuela’s oil reserves.
