US preparing to seize third Venezuelan oil tanker as Trump ramps up pressure on Maduro

"The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela, officials said on Sunday, in what would be the second such operation this weekend and the third in less than a week. One of the officials said the tanker was under sanctions. The officials, who were speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not give a specific location for the operation."

"The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump last week announced a "blockade" of all oil tankers under sanctions entering and leaving Venezuela. Trump's pressure campaign on Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has included a ramped-up military presence in the region and more than two dozen military strikes on vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near the South American nation. At least 100 people have been killed in the attacks."

"The White House's National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on Sunday that the first two oil tankers seized were operating on the black market and providing oil to sanctioned countries. "And so I don't think that people need to be worried here in the U.S. that the prices are going to go up because of these seizures of these ships," Hassett said. "There's just a couple of them, and they were black market ships.""

The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela. The tanker is reported to be under sanctions and its exact location was not disclosed. A presidential announcement established a "blockade" of all oil tankers under sanctions entering and leaving Venezuela. U.S. actions include a ramped-up military presence and multiple strikes on vessels near the country, with at least 100 fatalities reported. Economic officials characterized seized tankers as black market ships supplying sanctioned countries and downplayed immediate U.S. price impacts. Traders warned that seizures increase geopolitical risk and could raise oil prices when Asian markets reopen.

Read at Irish Independent