The US has seized another tanker off the coast of Venezuela, according to American officials.
The ongoing operation is led by the Coast Guard, with the US military providing support with its helicopters, an official told NBC, Sky’s US partner.
Both the Coast Guard and the Pentagon referred questions about the action to the White House, which has yet to comment.
It comes after the US seized a sanctioned oil tanker, called Skipper, off the coast of Venezuela last week.
Meanwhile, there’s been a steady build up of US forces in the region, effectively placing Venezuela under embargo.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday.
“It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before.”
In his post on social media, the president also branded the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as “illegitimate” and a “foreign terrorist organisation”.
He continued: “Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.”
Since the Skipper was seized, vessels carrying millions of barrels of oil have been staying put in Venezuelan waters, fearing that the US will intercept them.
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Some of these are considered to be part of a “shadow fleet” – vessels that use concealing tactics to transport goods for sanctioned countries like Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.
More than 70 oil tankers in Venezuelan waters this week are part of the so-called shadow fleet, with some 38 sanctioned by the US Treasury, according to data from TankerTrackers.com.
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President Trump has been ramping up pressure on the Maduro regime, accusing it of involvement in the drugs trade.
As part of his efforts, he has also authorised deadly strikes against vessels he claims are trafficking drugs in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
President Maduro claims Mr Trump is trying to overthrow him with a view to seizing Venezuela’s oil reserves.
