The capture of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela marks the opening of a new front in the US offensive to undermine Maduro’s regime: devastating revenues from a country heavily dependent on oil exports. A day after capturing the tanker Skipper off the coast of Venezuela, the Trump administration announced that the vessel was being transported to a U.S. port. The ship is carrying a cargo of around 1.9 million barrels of oil, which is expected to be confiscated by US authorities.
“The ship will go to an American port and the United States intends to seize the oil. There is, however, a legal procedure for the seizure of this oil, and this legal procedure will be followed”, declared Karoline Leavitt, the spokesperson for the White House, this Thursday (12/11).
The capture of the tanker, which occurred last Wednesday (10/12), is the latest chapter in President Donald Trump’s growing pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and risks sabotaging the Chavista regime’s last reliable source of income: oil exports.
In recent months, the US government has carried out around 20 military attacks on ships in the Pacific and Caribbean, resulting in the deaths of more than 80 people, which was illegal according to human rights organizations. Washington claims to want to fight drug trafficking, while accusing the Venezuelan dictator of being at the head of the Cartel de los Soles criminal organization.
Trump’s new front in the offensive against Maduro, however, appears to have focused primarily on Venezuela’s main economic source. According to information from the Reuters news agency, the United States is soon considering new captures of ships carrying Venezuelan oil.
Skipper was the first tanker seized by the United States, even though the raw material produced in the South American country has been the target of American sanctions since 2017. The vessel was sailing under a false Guyanese flag. The country, neighboring Venezuela, supported Trump’s operation in the Caribbean and is in conflict with Caracas over Essequibo, a region of Guyanese territory rich in oil and gas reserves.
Trump’s spokeswoman declined to comment on future operations, but said the United States would continue to implement the president’s sanctions policy.
“We will not stand idly by and watch sanctioned ships sail the seas with clandestine oil, the profits from which will fuel narcoterrorism perpetrated by rogue and illegitimate regimes across the world,” Leavitt said.
Clandestine routes connect Venezuela, Iran and Russia
The operation to capture Skipper took place on the orders of an American judge. The ship was carrying Venezuelan barrels. However, it received sanctions from the United States in 2022, when it was still known as MT/Adisa, on accusations of being part of a clandestine oil trafficking network on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah.
Location data showed that the Skipper was sailing near the coast of Guyana. Suddenly, the tanker began moving in a zigzag pattern, a physically impossible maneuver. In reality, it was an attempt to hide his exact whereabouts, as the ship was carrying illicit cargo worth tens of millions of dollars.
That’s when Pentagon helicopters appeared hovering over the ship. The American soldiers abseiled from the ship – not where the trackers pointed to the captain, but 600 kilometers to the northwest, near the Venezuelan coast.
Maduro reacted. The Caracas leader claimed Washington’s operation was aimed at “stealing” Venezuelan oil and said the ship’s crew was “missing.”
Leavitt, for his part, said the tanker was under “confiscation proceedings” and that a team of U.S. investigators was on board the vessel and questioning the crew.
Data from Windward, a maritime intelligence company that tracks ships like the Skipper, indicates the ship had been transporting Iranian oil to China in recent months. It also appears that the tanker was receiving illicit cargo from Russia. At least half of the Skipper’s cargo was destined for Cuba, according to documents disclosed by Venezuela’s national oil company PDVSA to The Associated Press.
According to Windward, there are around 30 oil tankers near Venezuela sanctioned by the United States and which could be subject to American seizure for carrying a false flag, which involves a violation of international maritime laws.
These illegal tankers hide their location by manipulating the automatic identification system (a mandatory safety feature intended to prevent collisions) to remain completely hidden or appear to be sailing miles away. In addition to false flags, they often use false registrations from other ships.
“There are hundreds of unflagged, stateless oil tankers that have been a vital source of revenue for regimes like Maduro, Iran and the Kremlin,” Michelle Weise Bockmann, senior analyst at Windward, told the Associated Press.
“They can no longer operate freely,” Weise added.
Source of income for Maduro
The clandestine oil market has been growing since 2022, when Russia was subject to the embargo following the invasion of Ukraine. Maduro, in turn, managed to use this network to release Venezuelan oil.
According to data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Venezuela has increased its oil production by 25% over the past two years. This product represents 15% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 80% of the country’s total exports – China is the destination of 80% of the oil exported by Caracas.
As a result, the siege imposed by Trump on illegal oil sector workers could have economic repercussions that would impact Maduro’s retention in power. The physical capture of an illegal ship is different from sanctions and marks a change in the situation, which already implies an increase in the cost of commercial relations with Venezuela.
Operation Skipper caused at least one carrier to suspend the voyages of three newly loaded vessels, carrying a total of nearly 6 million barrels of high-density Merey-type oil, Venezuela’s main export.
“The barrels had just been loaded and were about to leave for Asia. Now the trips have been canceled and the tankers are waiting on the Venezuelan coast because it is safer,” an official involved in the Venezuelan oil trade and transport told Reuters.
The US siege is therefore expected to impact the price of illegal Venezuelan oil, as fewer buyers will be willing to take the risk of having a shipment seized.
On the other hand, the dangers of investing in clandestine goods could end up putting pressure on international oil prices, which could generate an increase in the cost of energy and fuel and end up being a problem for Trump himself in the United States.
But the solution may be found in Venezuela itself. A possible fall of Maduro, with the rise of a possible US-backed government in Caracas, would open the local market to Trump. Currently, only one North American energy company, Chevron, operates in the Venezuelan oil sector, unaffected by Trump’s anti-Maduro policies.
fcl (AP, EFE, Reuters, ots)
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