"The United States will focus on exerting economic rather than military pressure on Venezuela over the next two months as it continues to pursue sanctioned Venezuelan oil, according to a Reuters news agency report citing an unnamed US official. The White House has ordered the military to focus almost exclusively on enforcing a quarantine' of Venezuelan oil, the Reuters report said, even as the US continues to apply military pressure in the region."
"Tensions have been rising in the Caribbean over the past month, where US President Donald Trump has deployed 15,000 troops, aircraft carriers, guided missile destroyers and amphibious assault ships, according to Reuters. The build-up marks the largest massing of US forces in the Caribbean in decades, and has raised fears that Trump could invade Venezuela on the pretext of protecting the US from international drug cartels and narcoterrorists."
Washington will emphasize economic pressure on Venezuela by targeting sanctioned oil and enforcing sanctions over the next two months rather than immediate military action. The White House ordered the military to focus almost exclusively on enforcing a quarantine of Venezuelan oil while US forces remain deployed in the region. Approximately 15,000 troops, aircraft carriers, guided-missile destroyers and amphibious assault ships have been deployed to the Caribbean. A mid-December order instituted a total blockade of US-sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. US forces have apprehended two tankers and are pursuing a third. Oil remains a vital lifeline for Venezuela, and energy sanctions were increased in 2019 after earlier measures since 2005. Enforcement by the Coast Guard could make oil-targeting a lower-risk, law-enforcement–led action compared with military operations.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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