The United States has seized an oil tanker that recently departed Venezuela, marking the second such seizure this month in a sharp escalation of its campaign against the sanctioned government of Nicolás Maduro.
The action, confirmed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, follows President Donald Trump’s Tuesday announcement of a “blockade” to stop sanctioned tankers from entering or leaving Venezuelan waters.
Venezuela has condemned the seizure as “theft and kidnapping,” accusing the U.S. of attempting to steal its national resources.
This latest enforcement underscores Washington’s intensifying pressure on Caracas, aiming to cripple the Maduro regime’s primary source of revenue by intercepting its oil shipments at sea.
By James Kisoo
