U.S. Forces Seize Seventh Sanctioned Oil Tanker Linked To Venezuela | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. navy forces boarded and took management of a seventh oil tanker related with Venezuela on Tuesday because the Trump administration continues its efforts to take management of the South American nation’s oil.

U.S. Southern Command mentioned in a social media publish that U.S. forces apprehended the Motor Vessel Sagitta “without incident” and that the tanker was working in defiance of President Donald Trump’s “established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”

The navy command didn’t say whether or not the U.S. Coast Guard took management of the tanker as has been the case in prior seizures. The Pentagon didn’t instantly reply to questions for extra particulars.

The Sagitta is a Liberian-flagged tanker and its registration says it’s owned and managed by an organization in Hong Kong. The ship final transmitted its location greater than two months in the past when exiting the Baltic Sea in northern Europe.

The tanker was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department underneath an government order associated to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The publish from U.S. Southern Command, nevertheless, indicated the ship had taken oil from Venezuela. It mentioned the seize of the tanker “demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully.”

The navy command posted what seemed to be aerial footage of the Sagitta crusing on the ocean, however not like in prior movies the clip didn’t present U.S. forces flying towards it in helicopters or touchdown on the deck of the ship.

Trump advised reporters simply hours earlier than the announcement that the U.S. already has taken 50 million barrels of oil out of Venezuela.

“We’ve got millions of barrels of oil left,” he mentioned on the White House. “We’re selling it on the open market. We’re bringing down oil prices incredibly.”