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The U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday was pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea as the Trump administration appeared to be intensifying its targeting of such vessels connected to the Venezuelan government.<\/p>\n
The pursuit of the tanker, which was confirmed by a U.S. official briefed on the operation, comes after the U.S. administration announced Saturday it had seized a tanker for the second time in less than two weeks.<\/p>\n
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the ongoing operation and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Sunday’s pursuit involved \u201ca sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela\u2019s illegal sanctions evasion.\u201d<\/p>\n
The official said the vessel was flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.<\/p>\n
The Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the U.S. Coast Guard, deferred questions about the operation to the White House, which did not offer comment on the operation.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s predawn seizure of a Panama-flagged vessel called Centuries targeted what the White House described as a \u201cfalsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Coast Guard, with assistance from the Navy, seized a sanctioned tanker called Skipper on Dec. 10, another part of the shadow fleet of tankers that the U.S. says operates on the fringes of the law to move sanctioned cargo. It was not even flying a nation\u2019s flag when it was seized by the Coast Guard.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump, after that first seizure, said that the U.S. would carry out a \u201cblockade\u201d of Venezuela. It all comes as Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric toward Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n
This past week Trump demanded that Venezuela return assets that it seized from U.S. oil companies years ago, justifying anew his announcement of a \u201cblockade\u201d against oil tankers traveling to or from the South American country that face American sanctions.<\/p>\n
Trump cited the lost U.S. investments in Venezuela when asked about his newest tactic in a pressure campaign against Maduro, suggesting the Republican administration\u2019s moves are at least somewhat motivated by disputes over oil investments, along with accusations of drug trafficking. Some sanctioned tankers already are diverting away from Venezuela.<\/p>\n
U.S. oil companies dominated Venezuela\u2019s petroleum industry until the country\u2019s leaders moved to nationalize the sector, first in the 1970s and again in the 21st century under Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Ch\u00e1vez. Compensation offered by Venezuela was deemed insufficient, and in 2014, an international arbitration panel ordered the country\u2019s socialist government to pay $1.6 billion to ExxonMobil.<\/p>\n
Maduro said in a message Sunday on Telegram that Venezuela has spent months \u201cdenouncing, challenging and defeating a campaign of aggression that goes from psychological terrorism to corsairs attacking oil tankers.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cWe are ready to accelerate the pace of our deep revolution!\u201d<\/p>\n
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has been critical of Trump’s Venezuela policy, called the tanker seizures a \u201cprovocation and a prelude to war.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, at any point in time, there are 20, 30 governments around the world that we don\u2019t like that are either socialist or communist or have human rights violations,\u201d Paul said on ABC’s’ \u201cThis Week.” \u201dBut it isn\u2019t the job of the American soldier to be the policeman of the world.”<\/p>\n
The targeting of tankers comes as Trump has ordered the Defense Department to carry out a series of attacks on vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean that his administration alleges are smuggling fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the United States and beyond.<\/p>\n
At least 104 people have been killed in 28 known strikes since early September. The strikes have faced scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and human rights activists, who say the administration has offered scant evidence that its targets are indeed drug smugglers and that the fatal strikes amount to extrajudicial killings.<\/p>\n
Trump has repeatedly said Maduro’s days in power are numbered. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said in an interview with Vanity Fairpublished last week that Trump \u201cwants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told NBC’s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d on Sunday that Trump’s use of military to mount pressure on Maduro runs contrary to Trump’s pledge to keep the United States out of unnecessary wars.<\/p>\n
Democrats have been pressing Trump to seek congressional authorization for the military action in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should be using sanctions and other tools at our disposal to punish this dictator who is violating the human rights of his civilians and has run the Venezuelan economy into the ground,\u201d Kaine said. “But I\u2019ll tell you, we should not be waging war against Venezuela. We definitely should not be waging war without a vote of Congress.<\/p>\n
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com<\/p>\n
#U.S #pursues #tanker #skirting #Venezuela #sanctions #GOP #senator #calls #seizures #provocation #prelude #war<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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