USA An oil tanker was seized off the coast of Venezuelaannounced President Trump this Wednesday, an action that represents an escalation of his administration’s pressure campaign against the regime of Nicolás Maduro, which, according to the head of the White House “His days are numbered”
“As you probably know, we just seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela,” Trump told reporters during an event at the White House. “A big tanker, very big. In fact, it is the largest ever confiscated, and there are other things happening,” the president said enigmatically.
“It was confiscated for good reasons,” he said, without giving further details, adding that photos of the operation would be released. “I assume that we will stick with oil,” he explained later.
The operation took place on the same day that the Nobel Peace Prize was officially awarded to the underground Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado. His daughter accepted the award on his behalf in Oslo.
Trump gave no further details about the operation, but two US officials said the Coast Guard had communicated it seized the tanker in international waters off Venezuela on Wednesday morning.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it was a military operation, said the seizure was carried out after “deliberate planning” and there was no resistance from the crew. According to officials, there were no injuries during the operation.
In his X account, the Venezuelan opposition leader against the Nicolas Maduro regime, Carlos Paparoni, assured that it was the AZURE ship. “A ship that left Venezuela with the intention of bringing oil to the international black market, bypassing controls, sanctions, etc Using avenues linked to criminal networks operating alongside the Nicolás Maduro regime.”Exactly.
The seizure occurs in the middle far-reaching US sanctions against the Venezuelan state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA), which has drastically restricted its ability to operate on global markets. As part of these measures, the United States prohibits shipping companies, insurance companies, banks and other service providers from facilitating Venezuelan oil exports.
The offensive against the oil tanker is a further step in the escalation of pressure against the Maduro regime. whom Trump accuses of being the leader of the Sun Cartel and tries to give up power. In another shocking move on Tuesday, two US F16 fighter jets flew over the skies of Venezuela, directly in the Gulf of Maracaibo.
Previously, the US military stationed in the Caribbean had only attacked boats allegedly transporting drugs and had not seized oil tankers.
Since September The United States has attacked at least 22 small boats in the Caribbean and Pacific According to the Trump administration, it is a drug trafficking operation that has killed more than 80 people. The attacks sparked strong condemnation from human rights organizations and US congressmen, who believe that the crew members are being killed anonymously for alleged drug trafficking (names or details of the operations are never revealed) and without the alleged drug traffickers being brought to justice.
The United States has carried out an unprecedented deployment in the Caribbean with the deployment of the world’s largest aircraft carrier (the USS Gerald Ford), destroyers, submarines, fighters, etc more than 15,000 soldiers.
Trump has prepared the ground for an escalation of the offensive. He has already said he is authorizing covert operations in Venezuela and warned that the United States could “very soon” expand its attacks from ships off the coast of Venezuela to inland targets such as airstrips, ports and facilities linked to drug trafficking. In an interview with Politico published on Monday, Trump said that “Maduro’s days are numbered.”
However, at the same time Trump wants to negotiate with the Venezuelan autocrat about stepping down from power. The two had spoken on the phone weeks ago and according to reports from the US, the Venezuelan demanded conditions that Trump found unacceptable, such as a “global amnesty” for him and his family and the retention of his Vice President Delcy Rodríguez in power.
Trump has said he is considering several options but has not said which ones. They range from attacking Maduro to taking control of the country’s oil fields. However, the head of the White House would definitely like to avoid a massive deployment of American troops on site. Not just because it could fail without eliminating Maduro but because 70% of the American population disagrees with it According to polls, it is an intervention in Venezuela.
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