The US is preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil following the seizure of a tanker this week, as it increases pressure on Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, six sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The seizure was the first interdiction of an oil cargo or tanker from Venezuela, which has been under US sanctions since 2019.
The incident came as the US executes a large-scale military build-up in the southern Caribbean and as US president Donald Trump campaigns for Mr Maduro to be overthrown.
The seizure has put shipowners, operators and maritime agencies involved in transporting Venezuelan crude on alert, with many reconsidering whether to sail from Venezuelan waters in the coming days as planned, shipping sources said.
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Further direct interventions by the US are expected in the coming weeks targeting ships carrying Venezuelan oil that may also have transported oil from other countries targeted by US sanctions, such as Iran, according to the sources familiar with the matter.
Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA did not reply to a request for comment. Venezuela’s government this week said the US seizure constituted a “theft”.
Asked whether the Trump administration planned further ship seizures, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters she would not speak about future actions but said the US would continue executing the president’s sanctions policies. “We’re not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil, the proceeds of which will fuel narcoterrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world,” she said.
The US has assembled a target list of several more sanctioned tankers for possible seizure, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.
A reduction or halt in Venezuelan oil exports, the main generator of revenue for the Venezuelan government, would strain the Maduro government’s finances.
The new US approach focuses on the activities of what is called the shadow fleet of tankers that transports sanctioned oil to China, the largest buyer of crude from Venezuela and Iran. A single vessel will often make separate runs on behalf of Iran, Venezuela and Russia, the sources added.
Meanwhile, Russia and its close ally Belarus contacted Mr Maduro on Thursday, raising the possibility he could seek refuge abroad.
Mr Maduro told Mr Trump in a telephone call on November 21st that he was ready to leave Venezuela, provided that he and his family had full legal amnesty, sources have told Reuters.
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday held his second meeting in 17 days with Jesús Rafael Salazar Velásquez, the Venezuelan ambassador to Moscow.
According to Belarusian state news agency Belta, Mr Lukashenko told the envoy on November 25th that Mr Maduro was always welcome in Belarus and it was time for him to pay a visit.
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On Thursday, Belta quoted Mr Lukashenko as reminding Mr Velásquez they had agreed at the first meeting to “co-ordinate certain matters” with Mr Maduro.
Reuters requested comment from Mr Lukashenko’s office on the significance of the meetings and whether Belarus would be willing to offer sanctuary to Mr Maduro if he stepped down. It did not respond.
The Kremlin said Russian president Vladimir Putin, in a phone call to the Venezuelan leader on Thursday, “reaffirmed his support for the policy of Maduro’s government, aimed at protecting national interests and sovereignty in the face of growing external pressure”.
The Trump administration has said it does not recognise Mr Maduro, in power since 2013, as Venezuela’s legitimate president. He claimed to have won re-election last year in a vote dismissed as a sham by the US and other western governments. Independent observers said the opposition had won overwhelmingly.
– Reuters
