"The U.S. Coast Guard is actively pursuing a vessel belonging to a sanctioned clandestine fleet that is part of Venezuela's illegal sanctions evasion efforts. The vessel is flying a false flag and is under a judicial seizure order," a U.S. official told NBC News, as reported by Xinhua on Monday.
Bloomberg News had previously reported on Sunday that the tanker, named Bella 1, had been boarded by U.S. personnel while en route to Venezuela to load cargo. The report later stated that the pursuit was ongoing.
If captured, the oil tanker would be the third in less than two weeks linked to the oil-rich South American nation to be intercepted by the U.S.
A day earlier, the U.S. Coast Guard boarded the Centuries off the coast of Venezuela. The Centuries is a Panamanian-flagged supertanker that is not on Washington's sanctions list.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told X that the crude oil on the Centuries came from Venezuela's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), which is under US sanctions.
On December 10, US forces seized the tanker Skipper near Venezuelan waters and announced plans to seize its oil cargo.
Six days later, US President Donald Trump ordered a "total and complete blockade" of sanctioned tankers entering or leaving Venezuela. Trump also announced that the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been designated a "foreign terrorist organization."
According to oil shipping monitoring website TankerTrackers.com, dozens of tankers on the US sanctions list are currently in Venezuelan waters. Oil exports are widely seen as the backbone of Venezuela's economy, accounting for the majority of the country's foreign revenue.
Venezuela accuses Washington of seeking regime change and military expansion in Latin America. Venezuela has also denounced the interception of the oil tankers as an act of "piracy."
Tags:
america
