US seizes oil tanker off Venezuela as Caracas condemns ‘act of piracy’

[ad_1] Watch: Video reveals US navy seizing oil tanker off Venezuela coast

US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump mentioned, marking a pointy escalation in Washington's stress marketing campaign towards Nicolás Maduro's authorities.

"We have now simply seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela - a big tanker, very massive, the most important one ever seized truly," Trump instructed reporters on the White Home.

Releasing a video of the seizure, Legal professional Common Pam Bondi described the vessel as a "crude oil tanker used to move sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran".

Caracas swiftly denounced the motion, calling it an act of "worldwide piracy". Earlier, President Maduro declared that Venezuela would by no means turn into an "oil colony".

The Trump administration accuses Venezuela of funnelling narcotics into the US and has intensified its efforts to isolate President Maduro in latest months.

Venezuela - house to a number of the world's largest confirmed oil reserves - has, in flip, accused Washington of looking for to steal its assets.

Brent crude costs inched greater on Wednesday as information of the seizure stoked short-term provide issues. Analysts warn the transfer might threaten shippers and additional disrupt Venezuela's oil exports.

US Legal professional Common Pam Bondi, who leads the US Division of Justice, mentioned the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Division of Protection, Division of Homeland Safety, and the US Coast Guard co-ordinated the seizure.

"For a number of years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the USA attributable to its involvement in a bootleg oil delivery community supporting international terrorist organizations," the nation's high prosecutor wrote on X.

Footage shared by Bondi confirmed a navy helicopter hovering over a big ship, and troops descending on to the deck utilizing ropes. Uniformed males have been seen within the clip shifting concerning the ship with weapons drawn.

A senior navy official instructed the BBC's US accomplice CBS that the helicopters used within the operation launched from the USS Gerald Ford, the world's largest plane service, which was despatched to the Caribbean final month.

It concerned two helicopters, 10 Coast Guard members and 10 Marines, in addition to particular forces.

Watch: Venezuela’s Maduro sings "Don't fret, be glad" as he requires peace with the US

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was conscious of the operation, and the Trump administration was contemplating extra actions like this, a supply instructed CBS.

When requested by reporters what the US would do with the oil on the tanker, Trump mentioned: "We hold it, I assume... I assume we will hold the oil."

Maritime threat firm Vanguard Tech recognized the vessel because the Skipper and mentioned it believed the ship had been "spoofing" its place - or broadcasting a false location - for a very long time.

The US treasury division sanctioned the Skipper in 2022, CBS reported, for alleged involvement in oil smuggling that generated income for Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Drive.

BBC Confirm situated this tanker on MarineTraffic, which reveals it was crusing beneath the flag of Guyana when its place was final up to date two days in the past. A press release from Guyana's Maritime Administration Division on Wednesday night, nevertheless, mentioned that the Skipper was "falsely flying the Guyana Flag as it isn't registered in Guyana."

The Skipper's port of name log reveals it referred to as in Iran, Iraq, and the UAE from 30 June to 9 July this 12 months. Its most up-to-date cease, in keeping with MarineTraffic, was at Soroosh port in Iran on 9 July, BBC Confirm has discovered.

That doesn't imply that it has not referred to as at a number of different ports since then.

MarineTraffic reveals it was final close to Iran in mid-September earlier than arriving off the coast of Guyana on the finish of October and making minimal additional motion since then. This knowledge could also be partial or incorrect due to spoofing.

MarineTraffic lists the useful proprietor and operator as Nigeria-based Thomarose World Ventures Ltd and it lists the registered proprietor as Marshall Islands-based Triton Navigation Corp.

Watch: Trump says US has seized "massive tanker" off Venezuela coast

The Venezuelan authorities issued an announcement denouncing the seizure as a "grave worldwide crime".

Inside Minister Diosdado Cabello referred to as the US "murderers, thieves, pirates".

He referred to Pirates of the Caribbean, however mentioned that whereas that movie's lead character Jack Sparrow was a "hero", he believed "these guys are excessive seas criminals, buccaneers".

Cabello mentioned this was how the US had "began wars everywhere in the world".

Talking at a rally earlier on Wednesday, Maduro had a message for Individuals against conflict with Venezuela. It got here within the type of a 1988 hit tune.

"To Americans who're towards the conflict, I reply with a really well-known tune: Don't fret, be glad," Maduro mentioned in Spanish earlier than singing alongside to the lyrics of the 1988 hit.

"Not conflict, be glad. Not, not loopy conflict, not, be glad."

It is unclear if Maduro knew concerning the seizure of the tanker earlier than this rally.

In latest days, the US has ramped up its navy presence within the Caribbean Sea, which borders Venezuela to the north.

The build-up entails hundreds of troops and the USS Gerald Ford being positioned inside hanging distance of Venezuela, BBC Confirm reported.

The transfer has sparked hypothesis concerning the potential for some type of navy motion.

Since September, the US has carried out at the least 22 strikes on boats within the area that the Trump administration says are smuggling medication. At the very least 80 individuals have died in these assaults.