US forces have intercepted a second oil tanker near Venezuela's coastline on Saturday, escalating Washington's maritime pressure campaign against the Nicolas Maduro's regime.
The vessel, identified as the Panama-flagged Centuries, was carrying approximately 1.8 million barrels of crude oil destined for China, according to internal documents from state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the pre-dawn operation, posting footage showing US helicopters landing on the ship's deck east of Barbados in the Caribbean Sea.
"The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund narco terrorism in the region," Noem stated. "We will find you, and we will stop you."
The vessel was carrying approximately 1.8 million barrels of crude oil destined for China
|REUTERS
The tanker had loaded its cargo under the false name "Crag" before departing Venezuelan waters on Wednesday.
Venezuela's far-left government denounced the interception as "a serious act of international piracy," accusing US military personnel of "theft and hijacking" and the "forced disappearance" of the ship's crew.
"These acts will not go unpunished," Caracas declared, announcing plans to lodge formal complaints with the UN Security Council and other multilateral bodies.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly defended the operation, describing the Centuries as "a falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet to traffic stolen oil and fund the narcoterrorist Maduro regime."
Venezuela's far-left government denounced the interception as 'a serious act of international piracy'
|GETTY
Jeremy Paner, a former investigator at the Office of Foreign Assets Control, observed that the Centuries was not on the US Treasury's sanctions list, marking "a further increase in Trump's pressure on Venezuela".
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva issued a stark warning against military action, speaking at a summit of the South American Mercosur bloc.
"Armed intervention in Venezuela would be a humanitarian catastrophe," he cautioned, adding that such action would establish "a dangerous precedent for the world".
The Brazilian leader drew parallels to the 1982 Falklands conflict between Britain and Argentina, declaring that "the South American continent is once again haunted by the military presence of an extra-regional power."
US-VENEZUELA TENSIONS - READ MORE:
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva issued a stark warning against military action
|GETTY
His comments came as American naval forces have steadily expanded their presence in the region.
Mr Trump said on Tuesday that "Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America," warning it would "only get bigger".
The seizure followed the President's announcement ordering "a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela."
It came days after US forces captured the Skipper, another tanker allegedly involved in illicit shipping.
Since that first interception, Venezuelan crude exports have dropped sharply, with vessels carrying millions of barrels remaining anchored in the country's waters rather than risk capture.
Data from TankerTrackers.com indicates more than 70 tankers currently in Venezuelan waters belong to the so-called shadow fleet, with roughly 38 under US Treasury sanctions.
The Trump administration has also authorised deadly strikes on drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing approximately 100 suspected narcoterrorists.
Mr Maduro has long-accused the US of trying to topple his socialist regime, which has been accused of committing human rights abuses and crimes against humanity.
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