US intercepts third vessel close to Venezuela marking second seizure in two days | EUROtoday

The United States has intercepted one other vessel off the coast of Venezuela, the second such operation this weekend, in line with stories.

The transfer is an escalation of President Donald Trump’s focusing on of a “shadow fleet” after he introduced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers getting into and leaving Venezuela.

Officials, who spoke to Reuters on the situation of anonymity, didn’t say which vessel was intercepted Sunday and didn’t give a selected location for the operation.

Bloomberg reported that US forces boarded a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker sanctioned by the US that was en path to Venezuela to load.

Trump on Tuesday mentioned he was ordering “A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a warning Saturday after the Coast Guard seized an oil tanker, which hadn’t appeared on US sanctions lists.

The tanker contained sanctioned PDVSA oil, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly mentioned.

“The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region,” Noem wrote in an announcement posted to social media. “We will find you, and we will stop you.”

In the times since U.S. forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela final week, there was an efficient embargo in place, with loaded vessels carrying thousands and thousands of barrels of oil staying in Venezuelan waters fairly than threat seizure.