The United States has seized another Venezuela-linked tanker, US officials told Reuters on Thursday, ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
The seizure marks the sixth vessel targeted in recent weeks that was either carrying Venezuelan oil or had done so in the past. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the seizure took place in the Caribbean.
The US military’s Southern Command confirmed the predawn operation, saying US forces apprehended Motor/Tanker Veronica “without incident”. It said the Veronica was “operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean”.
“The only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully,” Southern Command said in a statement.
The seizures began as part of Trump’s campaign to force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro out of power, which culminated in US forces swooping into the country to grab him and his wife on January 3.
Since then, Trump has said the United States plans to control Venezuela’s oil resources indefinitely as it seeks to rebuild the country’s dilapidated oil industry.
US seizes oil tanker off Venezuela
US seizes oil tanker off Venezuela