In a significant escalation of maritime pressure, United States forces have intercepted a second merchant vessel in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. The operation, confirmed by US officials on Saturday, follows President Donald Trump's declaration of a "total and complete" blockade against sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving the South American nation.
Blockade Enforcement and Rising Tensions
The latest seizure occurs just days after the US military captured an oil tanker near Venezuela on 10 December. This aggressive enforcement of sanctions comes amidst a stark warning from President Trump, who in an interview with NBC News broadcast on Friday, declined to rule out the potential for open conflict with the government of President Nicolás Maduro. "I don't rule it out, no," Trump stated, keeping military options firmly on the table.
US officials, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to discuss the ongoing operation, detailed the latest interdiction. The move is a direct implementation of Trump's order earlier in the week for a blockade, which he justified by accusing Venezuela of seizing US oil assets. "They took all of our oil not that long ago. And we want it back. They took it – they illegally took it," the President claimed.
Maduro's Defiance and Regional Concern
In response to the mounting US naval presence—the largest in the region for decades—President Maduro has instructed the Venezuelan navy to escort the country's oil tankers, setting the stage for a potential direct confrontation. Maduro asserts that Washington's true aim is regime change, rather than its publicly stated goal of combating drug trafficking.
The situation has drawn concern from other leaders in the Americas. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum criticised the lack of international intervention, stating on Wednesday that the United Nations was "nowhere to be seen" and called for the body to act to "prevent any bloodshed."
A Broader Campaign of Pressure
The maritime blockade is part of a broader campaign of pressure from Washington. In a related and lethal operation, the US military conducted a strike on Thursday against a vessel it alleged was involved in drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific. That action resulted in four fatalities, bringing the death toll from such strikes since September to 99 people.
The strategic focus on Venezuela's vital oil industry, symbolised by tankers like the one photographed at the El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello on 18 December, underscores the economic dimension of the crisis. As US forces continue to patrol international waters near Venezuela, the risk of a miscalculation or direct clash grows, with the Trump administration showing no sign of easing its maximum pressure campaign against the Maduro government.
