Asked what will happen to the oil on the tanker, US President says: ‘Well, we keep it, I guess’
Donald Trump has confirmed the seizure an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, fuerther fuelling tensions between the US and the South American nation.
During a briefing at the White House, the US President said: “We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually.”
He added that it was seized for “a very good reason” and “other things are happening” but did not offer additional details, saying he would speak more about it later.
Asked what will happen to the oil on the tanker, Trump said: “Well, we keep it, I guess.” He later adds: “I assume we’re going to keep the oil.”
US officials told news the Associated Press the operation was led by the US Coast Guard supported by the Navy and was conducted under US law enforcement authority.
The Coast Guard members that seized the tanker were taken to that ship by a helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald . Ford, a US official also confirmed to the news agency.
The Ford is operating in the Caribbean Sea and arrived last month in a major show of force, joining a fleet of other warships that have been increasing pressure on Maduro.
British maritime risk management group Vanguard said the vessel, named The Skipper was believed to have been seized off Venezuela early on Wednesday.
It is the latest move by Trump’s administration to increase pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who the US President has accused of carrying out “narcoterrorism” in the United States.
Attorney General, Pam Bondi, later shared a vide of the US Coast Guard boarding the ship.
Maduro and Venezuela’s government has denied the Venezuelan state is involved in drug-trafficking into the US.
During a speech at a demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, he did not address the seizure of the tanker. But he told supporters his country was “prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary.”
He said only the ruling party could “guarantee peace, stability, and the harmonious development of Venezuela, South America and the Caribbean”.
The US President has ordered a massive US military build-up in the region, including an aircraft carrier, other warships, fighter jets and tens of thousands of troops.
The US has also carried out a series of military strikes on boats it has alleged are carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific.
Since early September, more than 20 such strikes have taken place, killing more than 80 people.
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves and produces approximately one million barrels a day. Locked out of global oil markets by US sanctions, the state-owned oil company sells most of its output at a steep discount to refiners in China.
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These transactions usually involve a complex network of intermediaries, as sanctions have scared off more established traders. Buyers deploy “ghost tankers” that hide their location and hand over their valuable cargoes in the middle of the ocean before they reach their final destination.
On Tuesday, the US military flew a pair of fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela in what appeared to be the closest that warplanes had come to the South American country’s airspace since the start of the administration’s pressure campaign.
The US President has said land attacks are coming soon but has not given any details on the location.
