Reuters: US seizes sixth tanker carrying Venezuelan oil

The United States has seized another Venezuela-linked tanker, US officials told Reuters, just ahead of a scheduled meeting between President Donald Trump and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

The seizure marks the sixth vessel in recent weeks either transporting Venezuelan oil or having done so previously. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the seizure took place in the Caribbean.

The US Southern Command confirmed the pre-dawn operation, stating that US forces apprehended Motor/Tanker Veronica "without incident." It added that 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 properly coordinated and lawful," Southern Command noted in a statement.

The seizures began as part of Trump’s effort to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power, which culminated in US forces attempting to apprehend him and his wife on January 3.

Since then, Trump has indicated that the United States intends to control Venezuela’s oil resources indefinitely while working to rebuild the country’s struggling oil industry.

The intercepted vessels have either been subject to US sanctions or belonged to a “shadow fleet” of unregulated ships that conceal their origins to transport oil from sanctioned producers like Iran, Russia, or Venezuela.

The most recent seizure occurred just ahead of the upcoming meeting between Trump and Machado, marking their first in-person encounter since the US removed her long-time adversary, Maduro.

Trump has previously described Machado as a “freedom fighter” but dismissed the notion of installing her as Venezuela’s leader after Maduro’s removal, citing her insufficient domestic support.

By Jeyhun Aghazada