A cargo boat is docked below cranes at the seaport in La Guaira, Venezuela. (AP Photo/ Representational)
The United States is interdicting and seizing a vessel off the coast of Venezuela in international waters, the second such action in the past two weeks, as the Donald Trump administration continues to pile up pressure on Nicolas Maduro.
Three US officials told Reuters on Saturday did not say where the operation was taking place, but added the Coast Guard was in the lead. An ABC News report claimed that the Coast Guard interdicted a sanctioned vessel off the coast of Venezuela in international waters of the Caribbean Sea.
According to The Associated Press, an unnamed official described the action as a “consented boarding,” with the tanker stopping voluntarily and allowing US forces to board it.
“I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela,” Trump said on Tuesday.
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In the days since US forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela last week, there has been an effective embargo in place, with loaded vessels carrying millions of barrels of oil staying in Venezuelan waters rather than risk seizure.
Since the first seizure, Venezuelan crude exports have fallen sharply.
While many vessels picking up oil in Venezuela are under sanctions, others transporting the country’s oil and crude from Iran and Russia have not been sanctioned, and some companies, particularly the American oil giant Chevron, transport Venezuelan crude in their own authorized ships.
Shadow fleet
As of this week, of more than 70 oil tankers in Venezuelan waters that are part of the shadow fleet, around 38 are under sanctions by the US Treasury. Of those, at least 15 are loaded with crude and fuel.
On December 10, the oil tanker Skipper was seized by the US after it was intercepted in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela, in international waters between Grenada and Trinidad.
The seizure was carried out under a federal warrant issued approximately two weeks prior. The warrant targeted the vessel for its history of transporting sanctioned oil from Iran and Venezuela.
The Skipper was flying the Guyanese flag at the time of its seizure, but the government of Guyana confirmed the ship was not registered there and had previously de-listed it. The Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) was carrying roughly 1.6 to 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil, which is currently undergoing a forfeiture process in the US.
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A cargo boat is docked below cranes at the seaport in La Guaira, Venezuela. (AP Photo/ Representational) 
