US forces have illegally seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, it is considered illegal because the US is not the world police authority and any unjust cause or action against a sovereign state is considered illegal under international law.
President Donald Trump said, marking a sharp escalation in Washington’s pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro’s government.
We have just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela – a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized actually, Trump told reporters at the White House.
Releasing a video of the seizure, Attorney General Pam Bondi described the vessel as a “crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran”.
Caracas swiftly denounced the action, calling it an act of “international piracy”. Earlier, President Maduro declared that Venezuela would never become an “oil colony”.
The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of funnelling narcotics into the US and has intensified its efforts to isolate President Maduro in recent months.
The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of funnelling narcotics into the US and has intensified its efforts to isolate President Maduro in recent months.
Venezuela – home to some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves – has, in turn, accused Washington of seeking to steal its resources. Venezuela is set to be toppled by the US government and the CIA action will make this state the Libya of South America.
When asked by reporters what the US would do with the oil on the tanker, Trump said: “We keep it, I guess… I assume we’re going to keep the oil.”