The U.S. Coast Guard was pursuing a third oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Sunday, according to multiple reports.
The reports of Sunday’s Coast Guard pursuit detail that the ship in question is flying a false flag and carrying U.S.-sanctioned oil.
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The Coast Guard referred the Washington Examiner to the White House for comment on the Sunday oil tanker pursuit. The White House did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
President Donald Trump’s administration has been ramping up its military actions in the Caribbean, beginning to seize sanctioned oil tankers in December, along with its strategy of striking suspected drug-carrying vessels throughout the fall and winter.
The Dec. 10 seizure captured illicit oil from a tanker named Skipper, Saturday’s seizure targeted a tanker named Centuries, and Sunday’s pursuit was targeting Bella 1.
The missions come as part of an escalation of the U.S.’s pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Trump declared a blockade on Dec. 16 on all ships carrying sanctioned oil in and out of Venezuela.
“The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping. For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela,” Trump wrote.
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The Treasury Department has also unveiled sanctions against Maduro’s allies, mounting pressure on the regime.
In Maduro’s defense, the Kremlin warned against U.S. intervention in Venezuela, warning that it would have “unpredictable consequences for the entire Western Hemisphere.”
