Tanker seized off Venezuela to be taken to US port, as threat of war grows
White House justifies targeting ‘black-market oil’ as Russia expresses support for its ally, Nicolas Maduro
An oil tanker seized by American forces off the Venezuelan coast will be brought to a port in the United States, the White House said Thursday, as fears mount of open conflict between the two countries.
President Donald Trump’s administration has been piling pressure on Venezuela for months with a major naval build-up in the region that has been accompanied by strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats that have killed close to 90 people.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday expressed support during a phone call with his ally Maduro, but with Moscow’s forces tied down in a grinding war in Ukraine, its capacity to provide aid is limited.
US seizes oil tanker off Venezuela
“The vessel will go to a US port and the United States does intend to seize the oil,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told journalists of the tanker.