Trump announces the seizure of the largest oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela: “There are other things going on”

US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States had seized an oil tanker “very big” off the coast of Venezuela, in a move designed to escalate tensions with Caracas.

Trump announces the seizure of the largest oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela PHOTO: AFP

“We have just captured an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela – a large, very large oil tanker, in fact the largest ever captured. And other things happen, which you will see later and talk about with other people later”Trump told reporters, according to Agerpres.

For now, the American president has not provided details about the name of the ship, its owner or the destination of the oil tanker. Two US officials told Reuters that the operation was led by the US Coast Guard, without specifying the exact location of the interception. A senior Trump administration official told Bloomberg that it was about a “judicial enforcement action against a stateless ship” which last docked in Venezuela.

Maximum pressure on the Maduro regime

The United States is stepping up its economic and military efforts to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, in power since 2013. In a recent interview with Politico, Trump suggested that Maduro's days are “counted“.

In recent months, the US administration has put a $50 million bounty on Maduro's head, launched the largest naval operation in the Caribbean since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and carried out several airstrikes against suspected drug-trafficking boats, resulting in more than 80 deaths. On Tuesday, two US fighter jets flew over the Gulf of Venezuela for about 40 minutes, north of Maracaibo, one of the country's most populous cities.

Oil, the central stake

Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world. Although mismanagement and corruption have badly affected the oil industry, exports remain the main source of revenue, with China as the main customer. The US embargo prevents Caracas from selling its oil at fair prices, forcing the country to operate on the black market, mainly to Asian countries.