According to the New York Times, the ship was flying the Panamanian flag and carrying Venezuelan oil. “We will find you and arrest you,” says Trump secretary. The United States intercepted the second tanker this Saturday (20/12) in international waters of the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Venezuela. The information was confirmed by the US Department of Homeland Security, after being reported by the press.
This is a new episode in the escalation of American pressure on the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Last week, a first tanker had already been seized, after leaving the South American country, and its crude oil had been confiscated.
The New York Times, citing an unnamed U.S. official and two people linked to the Venezuelan oil industry, reported that the ship was flagged in Panama and carrying Venezuelan oil.
“We will arrest you”
“The United States will continue to pursue illicit movements of embargoed oil that is used to finance narcoterrorism in the region. We will find you and stop you,” Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on social media. For the moment, the president has not made any comments on the operation.
The secretary of state did not release any information identifying the tanker, and it was not immediately clear whether the intercepted vessel was subject to U.S. sanctions.
Trump recently ordered a complete blockade of ships carrying crude oil from Venezuela, but not from Iran or Russia, entering and leaving the country.
“Remember, they took away all of our energy rights. They took all of our oil not too long ago. We want it back. They took it from us illegally,” the president said last Wednesday.
For its part, Venezuela indicated on Saturday that it had received an offer of cooperation from Iran “in all areas” to confront “piracy and international terrorism” from the United States in the Caribbean.
Market impacts
Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in the 1970s. Later, under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez, the companies were forced to cede majority control to Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA.
Since the first seizure, Venezuelan crude oil exports have fallen sharply. Some companies, notably the American company Chevron, transport Venezuelan oil on their own licensed vessels.
China is the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil, accounting for about 4% of its imports. Shipments in December are expected to average more than 600,000 barrels per day, analysts say.
For now, the oil market is well supplied and millions of barrels of oil sit in tankers off the coast of China waiting to be unloaded.
If the embargo remains in effect, the loss of nearly a million barrels per day of crude oil supply will likely drive up oil prices.
Venezuela is estimated to have oil reserves of around 303 billion barrels, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), more than any other country.
ht (EFE, AFP, Reuters)
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